Class Time and Location: 9:30 - 10:50 on Tuesdays; 9:30 - 10:50 and 12:30 - 1:20 on Thursdays
Class Location: SC 102
Office Hours:
COURSE OBJECTIVES
Demography is an interdisciplinary field which draws on both social and natural sciences for the understanding of population history dynamics. Its methods of analysis are highly quantitative, but the values which inform policy attempting to influence population processes and their relation to resources are grounded in the kinds of discourse which are the objects of study of the humanities. Because of this deeply interdisciplinary nature, demography is an ideal focus for a Science and Math in Context (SMC) course within the Whittier Liberal Education curriculum. These courses "involve rigorous analysis of selected issues with scientific and/or quantitative components and enhance opportunities for active student learning and use of computing tools. INTD 216/SOC 358 (Population Problems and Policy) is an SMC course focusing on quantitative analysis of demographic processes and on understanding the ways in which these processes and their outcomes are subject to influence by policy within governments and other agencies. The course also satisfies the International and Global Perspectives (IGP) requirement within the Liberal Education program; and SOC 358 satisfies the Macro Sociology requirement within the Sociology major.
Students interested in using this course for career exploration and the building of usable skills will note that actuarial science is an important field of applied mathematics and that mathematics is central to the development of population projection and to the analysis of population history and processes. Similarly, population studies is a major subfield within sociology and is also an important component of the "policy sciences," whether urban planning or the development of educational, health, or welfare policy. It should be noted that students with career interests in these areas at the intersection of mathematics and the social science would strengthen their preparation by also taking courses from among the following:
MATH 80 Elementary Statistics or SOC 314 Statistics, MATH 315 Probability and Statistics,
MATH 354 Mathematical Modeling, SOC 310 Approaches to Social Research, EES 140/SOC 215 Geographical Information Systems, SOC 366 Social Planning and Evaluation, SOWK 364 Social Welfare Policy, PLSC 280 Political Methodology (Research methods), PLSC 360 Public Administration and Policy, and courses in Applied Economic Analysis.
The first part of INTD 216/SOC 358 will concentrate on the development of quantitative and other critical skills for examining demographic processes and the factors which influence them. The second part will be devoted to the critical use of these skills in actuarial and policy applications. Students will be assigned to two to three-member teams, each of which will organize its early work in the course around the comparison of two countries in terms of the demographic measures and processes being studied. Each team will select its countries in consultation with the instructors, attempting a "controlled comparison" in which the two countries vary in only particular of the dimensions thought to be critically related to demographic processes. Later work will focus on the relation of demographic processes and profiles to issues of opportunity and social policy within the United States. Each student will be involved in a final individual or collaborative project involving quantitative demographic analysis of an issue of her or his choice.
TEXTS
There will be two main texts and a list of recommended sources for reading:
EXERCISES & PROJECTS
In-Class and
Take-Home exercises will be assigned throughout the semester. Take-Home assignments are typically assigned on Thursdays and will normally be due the following Tuesday. Each team will submit a single report for each exercise.
Toward the end of the semester, students will work on an individual or a group project on an approved topic. Presentations of the projects will take place in the last three meetings of the semester.
EXAMS
There will be a midterm and a final exam in this course. They are scheduled as follows:
GRADES
The final grade for the course will be based on the following:
NOTES
All exams will be closed-book.
Make-up exams will be given only under extraordinary circumstances, and only if you contact us prior to the exam.
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