Sociology 261 - Population Studies

Introduction to demography. Population size, distribution, and composition; their change through fertility, mortality, and migration. The social and economic determinants and consequences of population trends. (Gen. Ed. R2)

Counting people is more than a statistic; it is an act of democracy! In this General Education social and behavioral sciences course (fulfills the R2 basic math requirement), we use demography to make sense of a rapidly changing world shaped by the pandemic, the Dobbs decision, below-replacement fertility, population aging, climate change, inequality, and global migration. Students learn core demographic concepts and methods -- focused on fertility, mortality, and migration -- and apply them to contemporary debates about pandemic ?excess deaths,? global migration crises, ?baby busts,? reproductive policy, and whether and when global population will peak and decline. Students will critically evaluate claims about ?overpopulation,? ?population collapse,? and other demographic threats, and learn how to interpret population pyramids, life expectancy and fertility rates through team-based activities, web-based data visualizations, and low-stakes problem sets.