Department of Sociology
College of Liberal Arts
Texas A&M University
(2021 Fall) SOCI 312 – Population and Society
– Course information
Time: Tuesday and Thursday, 12:45–2:00pm
Location: Architecture Building C (ARCC) 207, campus map
Canvas website:
https://canvas.tamu.edu/courses/98892
I will utilize Canvas to communicate with students, receive quizzes and exams, and post grades.
Recorded lectures:
http://www.youtube.com/c/ErnestoAmaralPhD
Face-to-face lectures will be recorded and uploaded to the YouTube channel after the end of each class session.
– Instructor details
Ernesto F. L. Amaral
Associate Professor, Department of Sociology
Phone: (979)845–9706
Email: amaral@tamu.edu
Office hours: https://tamu.zoom.us/my/amaral
I will provide office hours by appointment. Students must request appointments by email at least 48 hours in advance. When you enter this Zoom session, you will be placed in a waiting room. I will add you to the chat after I finish talking to the previous student.
– Quizzes, exams, and extra credit assignment
Submit on Canvas. Look for exact dates in the syllabus and on Canvas.
Quizzes and exams: Students should read instructions about online quizzes and exams before starting them on Canvas.
Extra credit assignment: Students should read instructions about this assignment before submitting it on Canvas.
– Lectures, exams, and other materials
Days 01, 02
Syllabus & An introduction to demography
Lecture (chapter 1)
Article about cohort definitions by Dudley Poston
Joel Cohen: An Introduction to Demography (Malthus Miffed: Are People the Problem?)
Don't Panic: Hans Rosling Showing The Facts About Population
The Population Bomb? – by Retro Report – The New York Times
Break It Down – The Pop Song – Population Reference Bureau (PRB)
Days 03, 04
Age and sex composition
Lecture (chapter 10)
Examples of age-sex structure and other indicators (in Excel)
Population Age Structure – Population Reference Bureau (PRB)
Days 05, 06
World population change over time
Lecture (chapter 12)
Day 07
Population change in the United States
Lecture (chapter 13)
Day 08
Exam 1
Available from 8am to 8pm on Canvas.
Students should read instructions about online quizzes and exams before starting them on Canvas.
Days 09, 10
Theories of demography
Lecture (chapter 2)
Theories of Demography: Objection! – Professor Matt Hauer
7 Billion and Counting – Population Reference Bureau (PRB)
Human Population Through Time – American Museum of Natural History
Day 11
The sources of demographic information
Lecture (chapter 3)
Population and vital statistics report (United Nations, 2006) with information on countries with censuses conducted on a de facto or de jure basis.
Days 12, 13, 14
Fertility
Lecture (chapter 4)
Example of fertility rates (in Excel)
Extra readings
Days 15, 17, 18
Mortality
Lecture (chapter 7)
The New York Times article about child mortality.
U.S. life expectancy decreased after 2014.
Netflix documentary about Bill Gates (see part 1 about developing technology to provide better sanitation to developing countries).
Example of standardization (in Excel)
Example of life table (in Excel)
Extra readings
MortPak – The United Nations Software Package for Mortality Measurement
Site
Day 16
Exam 2
Available from 8am to 8pm on Canvas.
Students should read instructions about online quizzes and exams before starting them on Canvas.
Days 19, 20
Internal migration
Lecture (chapter 8)
GeoDa: An introduction to spatial data analysis
Site
TableCurve 2D: Automated curve fitting analysis
Site
Examples of modeling migration rates
TableCurve2D by Prof. James Raymer
In SPSS
In Excel
Demographer William Frey Unpacks Why Fewer Americans Are Moving
Article at the Brookings Institution
For the first time on record, fewer than 10% of Americans moved in a year
Interview to NPR
Days 21, 22, 24
International migration
Lecture (chapter 9)
Extra readings about economic effects of immigration
Extra readings about U.S. Census citizenship question & Southern border wall
Prof. Mushfiq Mobarak: Does Immigration Create Jobs?
2019 Nobel Prize-Winning Economist Esther Duflo: 'You have no reason to fear low-skilled migration'
Days 23
Exam 3
Available from 8am to 8pm on Canvas.
Students should read instructions about online quizzes and exams before starting them on Canvas.
Days 25, 26
Race and ethnicity
Lecture (chapter 11)
Study about race and economic opportunity in the U.S.
The New York Times article about race and economic opportunity in the U.S.
Day 27
The family and sexuality
Lecture (chapter 5)
Extra readings
Day 28
Contraception and birth control
Lecture (chapter 6)
Extra readings
Day 29
Final exam
Available from 8am to 8pm on Canvas.
Students should read instructions about online quizzes and exams before starting them on Canvas.
Extra readings
Population distribution
Lecture (chapter 14)
Population Policy
Lecture (chapter 15)
The Earth in the 21st and 22nd centuries
Lecture (chapter 16)
– COVID-19 Pandemic
Coronavirus Pandemic (COVID-19)
Our World in Data
Site
Coronavirus COVID-19 Global Cases
Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE)
Johns Hopkins University (JHU)
Site
COVID-19 Coronavirus Pandemic
Worldometer
Site
Coronavirus Map: Tracking the Global Outbreak
The New York Times
Site
COVID Community Vulnerability Map
Jvion – Prescriptive Analytics for Preventable Harm
Site
Resources about demography and COVID-19
Population Europe
Site
Sex, gender and COVID-19
Global Health 5050
Site
– U.S. Census Bureau
Census Bureau
Official website
Site
Explore U.S. Census Bureau Data
Data.census.gov
What is data.census.gov?
Explanation about transition from American FactFinder
Site
American Community Survey (ACS)
Official website
Site
American Community Survey (ACS)
Public Use Microdata Sample (PUMS)
Site
Current Population Survey (CPS)
Site
Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP)
Site
Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates (SAIPE) Program
Site
Migration/Geographic Mobility
Site
County-to-County Migration Flows
Site
Census Flows Mapper
Site
TIGER/Line Shapefiles
Site
Demographic Analysis and Population Projection System (DAPPS)
Site
Quick Facts about the United States
Site
– Demographic resources
The DHS Program
Demographic and Health Surveys
Site
Family Inequality
Demographic facts your students should know cold in 2018
Site
Population: A lively introduction
Joseph A. McFalls – Population Reference Bureau (PRB)
Site
Population Pyramids
Site
Population
Science special issue
Site
Material
Population Connection
America's Voice for Population Stabilization
Site
Rob J. Hyndman – Monash University, Australia
Demography: Forecasting mortality, fertility, migration and population data
R package
Site
Coherent population forecasting using R
Site
Applied Demography Toolbox
Department of Demography
University of California Berkeley
Site
Integrated Public Use Microdata Series (IPUMS)
Minnesota Population Center (MPC)
University of Minnesota
Site
United Nations Manuals
Techniques for Demographic Estimation
Material
Population Division
Department of Economic and Social Affairs
United Nations
Site
Population.io
The World Population Project
Site
The Pudding - Human Terrain
World's Population in 3D
Data from the Global Human Settlement Layer
Site
Population Reference Bureau (PRB)
Site
Population Reference Bureau (PRB)
Data
Site
Population and Poverty Research Network (PopPov)
William and Flora Hewlett Foundation
Population Reference Bureau (PRB)
Site
European Social Survey (ESS)
Site
Eurostat - Your Key to European Statistics
Site
– Mortality data sources
The Human Mortality Database
Site
Latin American Human Mortality Database
Site
– Fertility data sources
The Human Fertility Database
Site
Human Fertility Collection
Site
European Fertility Project
Office of Population Research (OPR)
Princeton University
Site
– Migration data sources
World Migration Map
Site
Foreign-Born Population: A Nation of Overlapping Diasporas
Digital Scholarship Lab
University of Richmond
Site
Migration Policy Institute (MPI)
Site
Migration Policy Institute (MPI)
Tool to generate graphs of countries of birth for U.S. immigrants, 1960-Present
Site
Mexican Migration Project (MPP)
Princeton University & University of Guadalajara
Site
Mexican Family Life Survey (MxFLS)
Iberoamerican University (UIA)
Center for Economic Research and Teaching (CIDE)
Duke University
Site
The New Immigrant Survey
Princeton University
Site
Migrant Integration Policy Index (MIPEX)
Site
– Resources about refugees
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
Site
Syria Regional Refugee Response
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
Site
Syrian Refugees - A Snapshot of the Crisis
Site
Asylum Quarterly Report
Eurostat Statistics Explained
Site
REACH - Informing more Effective Humanitarian Action
Site
– Other microdata and surveys
Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID)
Institute for Social Research
University of Michigan
Site
Health and Retirement Study (HRS)
Institute for Social Research
University of Michigan
Site
American Life Panel
RAND Corporation
Site
World Values Survey
Site
Latinobarómetro: Opinión Pública Lationamericana
Site
Latin American Public Opinion Project (LAPOP)
Site
Comparative Study of Electoral Systems (CSES)
Site
– Aggregated-level data
Gapminder: Unveiling the beauty of statistics for a fact-based worldview
Site
Videos
World Bank Data
Site
Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Data
Site
World Wealth & Income Database
Site
Opportunity Insights
Site
National Vital Statistics System
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Site
Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME)
Data Visualizations
Site
Pew Research Center Data
Site
Global Attitudes & Trends
Pew Research Center
Site
OXFAM - The Power of People Against Poverty
Site
Doctors without Borders
Site
Brookings Institute
Site
– Academic associations
American Sociological Association (ASA)
Site
Population Association of America (PAA)
Site
American Political Science Association (APSA)
Site
American Marketing Association
Site
American Association for Public Opinion Research (AAPOR)
Site
– Sources for literature review
Web of Science
Scientific citation indexing service
Site
JSTOR (Journal Storage)
Digital library of academic journals, books, and primary sources
Site
American Journal of Sociology
Site
American Sociological Review
Site
Annual Review of Sociology
Site
Science Direct
Source for scientific, technical, and medical research
Site
PubMed
Citations for biomedical literature, life science journals, and online books
Site
– Resources to write about numbers
Purdue Online Writing Lab
Manuscript formatting (American Sociological Association – ASA style)
Site
Purdue Online Writing Lab
Writing with statistics
Site
Examples of tables and figures
PDF file
– Public-opinion polls
RealClearPolitics
Political news and polling data aggregator
Site
FiveThirtyEight
Statistical analysis about elections, politics, sports, science, economics and culture
Site
– Resources for migration syllabus
Migration and Citizenship Syllabus Bank
American Political Science Association
Site
Immigration Syllabus
Created by immigration historians affiliated with the Immigration History Research Center at the University of Minnesota and the Immigration and Ethnic History Society
Site
Syllabus in pdf
