Course Overview:

Demography, the study of human populations, is a wide-ranging and inherently multidisciplinary field. It maintains close ties with sociology and other social sciences, including economics and anthropology, as well as with human biology and public health. What unifies demography as a discipline is not a single theoretical framework, but a distinctive and well-established core of quantitative methods used to study population size, structure, and change. Using this methodological toolkit, demographers describe and analyse some of the most profound transformations reshaping societies worldwide. Since 1950, the global population has grown from approximately 2.5 billion to over 7 billion, while fertility and mortality have changed more dramatically than in any previous period of human history. As a result, societies across the globe are experiencing far-reaching shifts in health, family formation, migration, and population ageing.

This course provides a comprehensive introduction to the theories, methods, and key debates in demography, with a strong emphasis on global and comparative perspectives. Moving beyond the traditional focus on the Global North, the course examines population dynamics across diverse regions, including parts of the Global South where demographic change is currently most rapid. Core topics include mortality, fertility, family change, migration, and population policies, as well as their implications for social inequality, development, and public policy. Students will also learn how demographic tools can be used to analyse major global crises, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, and to inform evidence-based policymaking.

Intended Learning Outcomes:

Through textbook-based lectures that combine theoretical foundations with applied examples, students will explore key aspects of population dynamics. The course also provides hands-on training in demographic analysis, including the computation of demographic measures and the use of population data. By the end of the course, students will be able to analyse contemporary demographic developments and critically engage with major debates on population change, with particular attention to underrepresented regions and rapidly evolving demographic contexts.