Autumn 2005

Lecture: Monday and Wednesday, 9:30-11:18, Boyd Laboratory BL 0205

Professor: Zhenchao Qian. Office is 346 Bricker Hall. My office hours are 12:30 to 1:30 on Monday and Wednesday, or by appointment. My telephone number is 688-8612, and my email is qian.26@sociology.osu.edu.

Objectives:

This is an introductory course to the study of human population. The objective is to help you think about some of the social problems in the U.S. and around the world from a demographic perspective. We will focus on changes in the processes of mortality, fertility, and migration and how these processes shape the compositions of the U.S. and world populations. We will also examine how processes and compositions are related to social and economic developments.

This course addresses world population issues that will help students understand political, economic, cultural, and social differences among the nations of the world, including a specific examination of non-Western culture.

Readings:

John Weeks. 2005. Population: An Introduction to Concepts and Issues. Ninth Edition. Wadsworth. (JW)

Lichter, Daniel T. and Zhenchao Qian. 2004. Marriage and Family in a Multiracial Society, Edited by R. Farley and J. Haaga. New York and Washington DC: Russell Sage Foundation and Population Reference Bureau.

Himes, Christine L. 2001 “Elderly Americans.” Population Bulletin 56 (4). (Himes)

Riley, Nancy E. 2004. “China's Population: New Trends and Challenges,” Population Bulletin 59 (2). (Riley)

Lamptey, Peter et al. 2002. “Facing the HIV/AIDS Pandemic,” Population Bulletin 57 (3). (Lamptey)

Martin, Philip and Elizabeth Midgley. 2003. “Immigration: Shaping and Reshaping America.” Population Bulletin 58(2). (Martin)

Kevin Kinsella and David R. Phillips. 2005. “Global Aging: The Challenge of Success.” Population Bulletin 60 (1). (Kinsella)

Morgan, S. Philip. 2003. “Is Low Fertility a Twenty-First-Century Demographic Crisis?” Demography 40: 589-603 (OSU on-campus access to the article) (OSU off-campus access to the article) (Morgan)

Requirements:

You must attend class regularly. Lectures often cover materials not included in the course readings. In-class exercises or quizzes are given periodically to test how well you have followed the reading assignments and lectures. Discussion, questions, and comments are both encouraged and expected.

If you want to make up the credit for missed exercises or quizzes, you must turn in a one-page report based on the reading assignments for the missed class. No document is needed for the first make-up, but a written document is required for two or more make-ups (officially documented medical or family emergency). If the one-page report is satisfactory, you will receive 70% of the best score for an in-class exercise or quiz.

There will be three projects. Work relating to these projects must be neat, legible and organized. All projects must be typed and double-spaced. Each project takes about two or three weeks to complete. If you require an extension, please discuss this with me before the date on which the project is due. Projects are time-consuming, don=t expect to do them (well) at the last moment.

Two exams. The second exam will not be cumulative. The exams will consist of multiple choice, short answer, and short essay questions from lectures and readings.

Grading:

Two exams: 50%

In-class exercises, or quizzes (drop the lowest one) 20%

Projects: 30%

Total 100

Grading scale: A = 93-102; A- =90-92; B+ =87-89; B =83-86; B- =80-82; C+ =77-79;

C =73-76; C- =70-72; D+ =67-69; D =63-66; D- =60-62; E =<60

Your grade sheet:

Quiz 1 (1)	Quiz 2 (2)	Quiz 3 (3)	Quiz 4 (4)	Quiz 5 (5)	Quiz 6 (6)	Quiz 7 (7)	Quiz 8 (8)	Quiz Score (Add best 7 scores * 20) divided by 70 (9)
								Best possible, 20
Proj 1 (10)	Proj 2 (11)	Proj 3 (12)	Add three project scores together (13)		Exam 1 (14)	Exam 2 (15)	(Add two exam scores *50) /200 (16)	(9) + (13) + (16)
			Best possible, 30				BP, 50	Best possible, 100

Schedules:

I shall try to adhere to the following schedule. All readings should be done prior to the date of the class for which they are assigned. The exception is the reading for September 21. Please do the reading for this date and the September 26 class by September 26.

Date	Topic	Reading	Project
9/21	Introduction to Demography	JW: Chapter 1
9/26	World Population: History	JW: Chapter 2
9/28	World Population: Overview	JW: Chapter 2
10/3	China’s Population	Riley	Project 1 assigned
10/5	Demographic Perspectives	JW: Chapter 3
10/10	Demographic Data	JW: Chapter 4
10/12	Morbidity and Mortality	JW: Chapter 5
10/17	AIDS	Lamptey
10/19	Reproduction and Fertility	JW Chapter 6	Project 1 due
10/24	Low Fertility and Review	Morgan	Project 2 assigned
10/26	First Exam
10/31	Migration	JW Chapter 7
11/2	U.S. Immigration	Martin
11/7	Age Structures	JW Chapter 8	Project 2 due
11/9	Population Aging	JW Chapter 9	Project 3 assigned
11/14	Elderly Americans	Himes
11/16	Family	JW Chapter 10 Lichter and Qian
11/21	American Families	JW Chapter 10 Lichter and Qian
11/23	Project Consultation
11/28	Population Futures	JW Chapters 12
11/30	Population Policies and Review	JW Chapter 13	Project 3 due
12/7	Second Exam (7:30-9:18)

Students with documented disabilities are responsible for making their needs known to the instructor and seeking available assistance in a timely manner. The syllabus is available in alternative formats upon request. Please contact Sociology Undergraduate Student Services, 304 Bricker Hall, 292-9416.