Aims

To present and analyse the various theories and explanatory currents on fertility, mortality, migrations and nuptiality, together with the relationship between population and development.
To provide students with a critical understanding of the current theoretical and explanatory situation in social and economic demography.

Main themes

- General terminological items (e.g. theory, explanation, causality and levels), and a brief history of theorisation and explanatory research in the field of demography.
- The theory of demographic transition, an element of the theory of modernisation: From the primitive version to more recent versions (importance and limitations).
- The main theoretical approaches to fertility: From microeconomic and psychological theories to various macro-structural theories, classifications and typologies, a detailed examination of the main dominant currents, and the search for a unified theory.
- Explanatory currents of mortality: Economic, medical, nutritional and socio-cultural; a wide range of explanations in time and space depending on gender and age; and the need for, and difficulties related to, causal integration.
- An overview of the theory of migration, including theories of supply and demand, and micro- and macro-approaches.
- The main contemporary paradigms: Pure, undiluted Malthusianism, anti-Malthusianism and qualified Malthusianism; and illustrations of the current situation as regards the relationship between population, development and the environment.
- The importance, difficulties and dangers involved in searching for a general, unified, universal theory of demographic change.

Content and teaching methods

The course will include professorial lectures, directed reading and expositions.
Seminar time will be given over to an in-depth analysis of an approach, or of concrete situations drawn from the literature.

Other information (prerequisite, evaluation (assessment methods), course materials recommended readings, ...)

Assessment: This will be based on personal and group work.
Syllabus and articles.

Other credits in programs