SYD 3020 Population and Society
Course Information
• Course Hours: Online Only (see below for first-day attendance requirement) • Course Meeting Location: Online Only • Credit Hours: 3 hours • Prerequisites: None
Course Description
Population and Society examines precursors to Malthus, his classic essay on population, and contemporary views on his work. The course then explores mortality decline and fertility decline as features of the demographic transition, and examines consequences of that transition for aging of populations, migration and urbanization, and ethnic balance in societies. Course participants react to each reading by completing on-line quizzes based on assigned study questions and video lectures, and complete a series of spreadsheet exercises that provide first-hand experience with population data illustrating the ideas covered in readings and video lectures.
Course Instructor
Elwood Carlson
Charles Nam Professor in Sociology of Population
Department of Sociology
Weekdays 8-9:00 and by appointment
Emails will be responded to within 24 to 48 hours.
Course Teaching Assistant(s)
Marty Masek [email protected]
Office Hours:
Stephanie Otte [email protected]
Office Hours:
Tayelor Valerio [email protected]
Office Hours:
Learning Objectives
By the end of this course students will demonstrate through exams and written assignments that they can:
• identify, evaluate and communicate the relationships between key demographic processes (births, deaths and migration) and the resulting composition of populations; • apply original empirical evidence to construct and discuss the most common basic demographic measures such as age-adjusted death rates, total fertility rates, dependency ratios and population mobility matrices. • compare and evaluate the merits of major theoretical perspectives that seek to account for the ways that populations affect and are affected by social, political and economic circumstances.
Course Materials
There are no textbooks or other materials to purchase for this course. All readings and assignments are available in this Canvas site or through external internet links.
Student Responsibilities
• You must document your attendance/enrollment in the course by completing the Enrollment Survey found in Module 0 during the first week of classes. Any enrolled student who fails to complete this survey by Friday at 5:00 PM at the end of the first week of classes will be DROPPED from the course per FSU requirements for "first-day attendance." This enrollment survey is the online equivalent of the first-day attendance requirement for the course. • Before you can start the actual course assignments, beginning with Module 01 (see below) you must answer all questions correctly on the for-credit Syllabus Quiz, also found in Module 0. This brief quiz demonstrates that you have read the entire Syllabus and that you understand its provisions. You can take this quiz as many times as you like, but you must get ALL questions correct to complete Module 0. (IMPORTANT NOTE: You must complete ALL items in each current module, including Module 0, before you will get access to the next Module for the course.) • You should log on to Canvas at least every other day to check for course updates. • You are expected to keep up with the class, engage with the course material, and submit assignment by due dates. Late assignments will incur substantial penalties that will have a serious impact on your course grade. • Assignments, quizzes, and exams are expected to be products of individual students as per the FSU Academic Honor Policy (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.. Students should not discuss any of these assessments with each other before or during the actual assignments, activities, quizzes, or exams without instructor approval.
Grading Policy
Sixty-five percent (65%) of the course grade is based on your responses to on-line quizzes about each assigned reading. The introductory quiz for each reading (based on your initial reading of the article using the study questions provided) is worth three points. The other three quizzes based on portions of the video lectures are each worth two points, for a total of nine points from each reading. The quizzes on readings in each CANVAS Module have DUE DATES AND TIMES clearly marked wherever they appear in the CANVAS course site—pay close attention to these due dates! If you complete the quiz before the expiration of the due date and time, you will receive full marks for the quiz. If the quiz is completed late (after the due date and time) a one-point penalty per quiz will be subtracted from your earned score on each quiz. If the quiz is completed more than one week after the due date and time, a two-point penalty will be subtracted from your earned score (making a two-point quiz automatically worth ZERO points). If the quiz is completed more than two weeks after the due date and time, a three-point penalty will be subtracted from your earned score (making a three-point quiz automatically worth ZERO points). No quiz will ever earn less than zero points—no negative scores are possible. (If all four quizzes for a reading are late by even one minute, you will lose four out of nine possible points for that set of quizzes!)
IMPORTANT NOTE: You must complete ALL items in each current Module of the course before you will be able to see or work on assignments for the next weekly Module. This includes checking off all lectures, taking all reading/lecture quizzes, AND completing all problem sets (see below).
Twenty-five percent (25%) of the course grade is based on scores on a set of six (6) Excel spreadsheet problem sets and associated quizzes assigned in specific weeks of the course (see course syllabus and/or Modules for specific assignments and due dates). There is an instructional video available for each spreadsheet, which you are encouraged to watch while you complete the assignment. You can pause the video while you perform calculations as instructed. Each problem set spreadsheet is worth two points if you score at least 8 out of 10 on the associated quiz, but only one point if you score 7 or fewer points. If you score 7 or fewer points, the problem set will be inspected for errors and a commented copy will be posted to your Gradebook. Each problem set quiz is worth 10 points for ten multiple-choice questions about the material covered in the spreadsheet, including your calculations. You must submit each spreadsheet and complete each quiz as part of the requirements for completing the Module in which it appears; you cannot go on to the next Module until you complete ALL items in a current Module. No excused absences are allowed for problem set assignments unless they cover the ENTIRE week of the assignment and a student is receiving an incomplete grade in the course. Students are encouraged to submit each problem set early to avoid potential problems with deadlines.
A cumulative final examination must be taken on-line during the Final Exam week. This final exam counts for ten percent (10%) of the course grade.
Grading Scheme
Points appear in the CANVAS Gradebook feature as they are earned. Students may estimate their grades by consulting this record.
• Divide your points on all reading/lecture quizzes by the total possible quiz points; multiply this proportion correct by 0.65. • Divide your points on all six problem sets (spreadsheets and quizzes) combined by total possible problem set points; multiply this proportion by 0.25. • Add together your points on the final exam, points for the Syllabus quiz, points for completing the on-line course evaluation and points for documenting your Individual Retirement Account. Divide your combined final exam and extra credit points by the total possible final exam points; multiply this proportion by 0.10. (NOTE that this final exam value may exceed 0.10, which can help your grade!)
When you add together the results of the three calculations above, you will have your weighted percentage score for the course. There are no "plus" or "minus" grades in this course. If you would have received a B+ you will receive an A instead. If you would have received a D+ you will receive a C instead. Grades are assigned to these weighted percentages, rounded off to the nearest percent, as follows:
• A = 90% to 100% • B = 80% to 89% • C = 70% to 79% • D = 60% to 69% • F < 60%.
Technology Requirements Course content is accessible through Canvas. Students will need to be able to view videos, write and upload assignments, post to discussion boards, and take assessments. Students should have access to high-speed internet and updated software. Mobile devices may be used to view course content, upload assignments, and take assessments as determined by the instructor. To view the most current technology requirements, visit the FSU Canvas support site (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site..
Canvas Support
Need help with Canvas? Contact FSU Canvas Support:
Email: [email protected]
Phone: (850) 644-8004
Website: distance.fsu.edu/canvas (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.
Hours: 8am to 5pm, Monday - Friday
University Policies
Distance Learning Attendance Policy
Since there is no classroom attendance for this course, there are no absences, excused or otherwise. However, certain events and conditions may interfere with your ability to complete these assignments in a timely manner. If you represent the University at official events such as athletic competitions, or if you experience documented illness of yourself or dependent children, deaths in the family or other documented crises, a call to active military duty or jury duty, or religious work-restricted holy days, this may affect your schedule of work for the course. It is your responsibility to work ahead of the schedule of syllabus-weeks in case of such disturbances, to insure that you are keeping up with weekly quizzes described in the CANVAS Modules for each week. NOTE that since this is not an on-campus course, there are due dates for weekly quizzes at the end of the weeks of holiday breaks as well as other weeks! If you will not be doing any course work that week, again you should work ahead in the course to meet these deadlines! In case of unforeseen events and conditions recognized by the university as excused absences, you should contact the Instructor immediately. If you are unable to complete the work for the semester by the end of classes and if you have documentation of excuses noted above, you may submit these excuses in order to request an Incomplete grade in the course. This request will be reviewed by the Instructor, and may be accepted, in which case you will receive a grade of I for Incomplete. Your request may be rejected if your circumstances do not match those allowed by the university for such a grade. All excuses and requests for Incomplete grades must be resolved before the end of regular class sessions during the semester on December 8th. No excused absences can be resolved following the last day of class. Note that students must be passing the course at the time they request any incomplete grade. See university regulations for the time you will have to make up the incomplete if a grade of I is awarded for such excuses. Academic Honor Policy
The Florida State University Academic Honor Policy outlines the University's expectations for the integrity of students' academic work, the procedures for resolving alleged violations of those expectations, and the rights and responsibilities of students and faculty members throughout the process. Students are responsible for reading the Academic Honor Policy and for living up to their pledge to "...be honest and truthful and... [to] strive for personal and institutional integrity at Florida State University." (For more details see the FSU Academic Honor Policy and procedures for addressing alleged violations (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site..)
Americans With Disabilities Act
Students with disabilities needing academic accommodation should (1) register with and provide documentation to the Student Disability Resource Center and (2) provide a letter to the instructor (as a PDF document attached to an email) indicating the need for accommodation and what type. Please note that instructors are not allowed to provide classroom accommodation to a student until appropriate verification from the Student Disability Resource Center has been provided. This syllabus and other class materials are available in alternative format upon request. For more information about services available to FSU students with disabilities, contact the:
Student Disability Resource Center (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.874 Traditions Way 108 Student Services Building Florida State University Tallahassee, FL 32306-4167 (850) 644-9566 (voice) (850) 644-8504 (TDD) Email: [email protected]
Free Tutoring from FSU
On-campus tutoring and writing assistance is available for many courses at Florida State University. For more information, visit the Academic Center for Excellence (ACE) Tutoring Services' (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. comprehensive list of on-campus tutoring options - email: [email protected]. High-quality tutoring is available by appointment and on a walk-in basis. These services are offered by tutors trained to encourage the highest level of individual academic success while upholding personal academic integrity.
Syllabus Change Policy
Except for changes that substantially affect implementation of the evaluation (grading) statement, this syllabus is a guide for the course and is subject to change with advance notice.
Readings and Assignments READING LIST INSTRUCTIONS: Assigned readings are available through links shown in each weekly topic Module (see Modules).
Week 1: Demography begins
• Giovanni Botero. [1588] 1985. The cause of the greatness of cities. reprinted in Population & Development Review 11:335-340. • Benjamin Franklin. [1755] 1985. Observations concerning the increase of mankind and the peopling of countries. reprinted in Population & Development Review 11:108-12. • Learning Objectives: Evaluate through exam questions the concept of populationism, the societal basis of vital rates, and contextual details of specific cases studied.
Week 2: The gloomy parson
• Thomas Malthus. [1798] 1977. An Essay on the Principle of Population. (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. New York: Penguin Books. • Learning Objectives: Evaluate through exam questions Malthus' assumptions about human nature and his arguments about social forces shaping population growth.
Week 3: Malthus today
• Geoffrey McNicoll. 1998. Malthus for the twenty-first century. Population and Development Review 24(2):309-316. • James Lee & Wang Feng. 1999. Malthusian models and Chinese realities: the Chinese demographic system 1700-2000. Population and Development Review. 25(1):33-65. • Learning Objectives: Evaluate through exam questions how contemporary scholars build on as well as critique and revise Malthus' model of population dynamics.
Week 4: Mortality decline
• problem set #1: age-standardized death rates • John B. and Sonja M. McKinlay. 1977. The questionable contribution of medical measures to the decline of mortality in the United States. Milbank Memorial Fund Quarterly 55(3): 405-428.. • Machiko Yanagishita & Jack Guralnik. 1988. Changing mortality that led life expectancy in Japan to surpass Sweden's: 1972-1982. Demography 25:611-624. • Narayan Sastry. 1996. Community characteristics, individual and household attributes, and child survival in Brazil. Demography 33(2): 211-229. • Learning Objectives: o 1. Calculate standardized crude death rates and discuss in writing the effects of age structure and mortality conditions on crude rates (problem set). o 2. Evaluate through exam questions the causes and consequences of dramatic changes in the timing of deaths over the life course in recent centuries (readings).
Week 5: Fertility decline • problem set #2: standard fertility measures • Karen Oppenheim Mason. 1997. Explaining fertility decline. Demography 34(4): 443-54. • Joseph Potter, Carl Schmertmann & Suzana Cavenaghi. 2002. Fertility and development: evidence from Brazil. Demography 39(4): 739-61. • Mikko Myrskyla, Hans-Peter Kohler & Francesco Billari. 2009. Advances in development reverse fertility declines. Nature 460(6): 741-743. • Learning Objectives: o 1. Calculate standard summary measures of fertility and discuss in writing the difference between period and cohort rates (problem set). o 2. Evaluate through exam questions some major theoretical perspectives advanced to explain the societal determinants of differences in birth rates (readings).
Week 6: Demographic transition
• Kingsley Davis. 1963. The theory of change and response in modern demographic history. Population Index 29(4): 345-366. • Dudley Kirk. 1996. Demographic transition theory Population Studies 50(3): 361-387. • Ron Lesthaeghe. 2014. The second demographic transition: a concise overview of its development. Proceedings of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences 111(51): 18112– 18115. • Learning Objectives: Evaluate through exam questions the connection between declines in mortality and fertility as components of the demographic transition (readings).
Week 7: Timing of transition
• problem set #3: population growth rates • Carl Mosk. 1977. Demographic transition in Japan. Journal of Economic History 37(3): 655-74. • Daniel Jordan Smith. 2004. Contradictions in Nigeria's fertility transition: the burdens and benefits of having people. Population and Development Review 30: 221-238. • Mohammad Abbasi-Shavazi & Peter McDonald. 2006. Fertility decline in the Islamic Republic of Iran: 1972–2000. Asian Population Studies 2(3): 217-37. • Learning Objectives: o 1. 1. Calculate annual rates of population growth and discuss reasons for differences in rates across countries and over time (problem set). o 2. Evaluate through exam questions possible explanations for variation across societies in the timing and speed of demographic transitions (readings).
Week 8: Is low mortality irreversible?
• Elwood Carlson. 1989. Concentration of rising Hungarian mortality among manual workers. Sociology and Social Research 74(3): 119-128. • Jeffrey Taubenberger & David Morens. 2010. Influenza: the once and future pandemic. Public Health Reports 125(Supplement 3): 16-26. • Case, Anne & Angus Deaton. 2015. Rising morbidity and mortality in midlife among white non-Hispanic Americans in the 21st century. Proceedings of the National Academy Sciences USA. 2015;112(49):15078–15083. • Learning objectives: Evaluate through exam questions the potential for and causes of renewed increases in death rates.
Week 9: Effects of transition
• Samuel Preston. 1984. Diverging paths for America's dependents. Demography 21(4):435-57. • Monica Das Gupta & P. N. Mari Bhat. 1997. Fertility decline and increased manifestation of sex bias in India. Population Studies 51(3):307-315. • John Ross. 2004. Understanding the demographic dividend. Policy September: 1-8. • Learning objectives: Evaluate through exam questions the social, demographic and economic consequences of demographic transition.
Week 10: Population aging
• Problem Set #4: population age structure • Ansley J. Coale. 1964. How a population ages or grows younger. chapter 3 in Ronald Freedman (editor). Population: the Vital Revolution . Garden City NY: Anchor Doubleday. • Naohiro Ogawa & Robert D. Retherford. 1997. Shifting costs of caring for the elderly back to families in Japan: will it work? Population and Development Review 23(1):59-94. • Ronald Lee & Shripad Tuljapurkar. 1997. Death and taxes: longer life, consumption, and social security. Demography 34(1): 67-81. • Learning Objectives: o 1. Calculate proportions of young and old dependents in the U.S. population and evaluate changes in dependency ratios over time (problem set). o 2. Evaluate through exam questions the relation between changes in vital rates, age structure, and societal transformation (readings).
Week 11: Cohort cycles
• Richard A. Easterlin, Michael L. Wachter & Susan M. Wachter. 1978. The changing impact of population swings on the American economy. Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society 122: 119-130. • Fred C. Pampel. 1993. Relative cohort size and fertility: the socio-political context of the Easterlin effect. American Sociological Review 58(4): 496-514. • Elwood Carlson. 1992. Inverted Easterlin fertility cycles and Kornai's "soft" budget constraint. Population and Development Review 18: 669-688. • Learning Objectives: Evaluate through exam questions the nature and societal consequences of size variations of successive generations.
Week 12: Global migration • problem set #5: lifetime internal migration • Lindsey Grant. 2001. Replacement migration: The UN Population Division on European population decline. Population & Environment 22(4): 391-399. • Philip Martin, Elizabeth Midgley & Michael Teitelbaum. 2001. Migration and development: focus on Turkey. International Migration Review 35(2):596-605. • Philippe Fargues. 2011. International migration and the demographic transition: a two- way interaction. International Migration Review 45(3): 588-614. • Learning Objectives: o 1. Calculate lifetime gross and net migration between geographic divisions of the United States and comment on observed patterns (problem set). o Evaluate through exam questions the evolution of social controls over population movements and their consequences for society.
Week 13: Immigrants and internal migrants
• problem set #6: changing ethnicity in Texas • William Frey. 1996. Immigration, domestic migration, and demographic balkanization in America. Population & Development Review 22:741-762. • Mary Waters & Tomás Jiménez. 2005. Immigrant assimilation: current trends and directions for future research. Annual Review of Sociology 31: 105-25. • Feyzi Baban, Suzan Ilcan & Kim Rygiel. 2017. Syrian refugees in Turkey. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies 43(1): 41-57. • Learning objectives: o 1. Calculate changing race/ethnic composition of the Texas population and evaluate trends for different groups (problem set). o 2. Evaluate through exam questions the impact of immigrants on receiving societies and of national policies on migrants themselves (readings).
Week 14: Urbanization
• Zai Liang & Zhongdong Ma. 2004. China's floating population: new evidence from the 2000 Census Population and Development Review 30(3):467-488. • Eleonora Patacchini & Yves Zenou. 2009. Urban sprawl in Europe. Brookings-Wharton Papers on Urban Affairs 125-149 • Sean Fox. 2012. Urbanization as a global historial process: theory and evidence from sub-saharan Africa. Population and Development Review 38(2): 285-310. • Learning Objectives: Evaluate through exam questions the urbanization of human populations and attempts to control the process.
Final Examination
• multiple-choice questions covering problem sets, readings and quizzes • online multiple-choice exam must be completed in one two-hour sitting, during the first three days of the official final examination period. No exceptions are allowed to this requirement. • Learning Objectives: Demonstrate cumulative retention of key ideas from all weeks of class, readings, and problem sets through responses to multiple-choice questions.