Population Studies

3 Credits · Level: Undergraduate

Sociology Core Topics Course: This course is designed to provide students with an overview of the field of population studies, also known as demography. Broadly defined, demography seeks to describe and understand population change and composition. Population approaches have been used to describe and study a variety of social issues, including health and mortality, aging, family and households, fertility, racial-ethnic diversity and segregation, immigration, urbanization, and concerns about food, resources, and sustainability. Understanding these approaches is important as businesses, governments, and individuals deal with the demands of changing populations. This course pays particular attention to the causes and consequences of population change. Emphasis will be placed on relating demographic concepts and methods to current events and pressing social and political issues. Students will become familiar with some of the tools and basic methods that demographers use. For example, they will be able to look at a country's population pyramid and tell a story about the country's fertility history.