Demography

The aim of the course is pursued with the use of various teaching techniques that comprise lectures, discussions, and workshops in computer labs. Lectures are an important element of the course, since they create a basis for subsequent discussions. Active participation from the students in classes consists of individual work, work in pairs or in groups on analytical tasks.

During the semester, students work individually on their papers, first by choosing the topic and the aim of the paper, next by preparing and presenting in classes a detailed summary, and finally by editing a paper (up to 3000 words), which will be reviewed and graded by the lecturers. Perceiving phenomena and population processes as problems in the economic and social context, as well as the ability to illustrate these phenomena with the use of basic methods and techniques of demographic analysis, prepares students for subsequent studying. Furthermore, it develops in students the ability to seek solutions to problems on their own, both in formal and informal education, as well as in professional and social life.

1. Student gets familiarized with basic demographic structures (among others, with respect to age and sex in various populations and various moments in history), processes (marriage, fertility, mortality, migrations, ageing), relations between them, and also values of their measures from a historical perspective. He knows their economic, social, and cultural consequences
2. Student knows fundamental theoretical approaches in demography. He has a deep knowledge of the paradigm of contemporary demography, i.e. the demographic transition theory.
3. Student knows the assumptions, claims, consequences, interpretations and critique of selected demographic theories and concepts (population theories in particular), and the assumptions, goals, and instruments of population policy.
4. Student gets familiarized with the stages of a research study, concepts of conceptualization and operationalization, differences between research question and research hypothesis, and with rules of preparing an academic paper and oral presentation.
5. Student knows demographic databases (GUS and Eurostat in particular), construction of measures of demographic processes and life tables, and graphical presentation of demographic phenomena (Lexis diagram).
6. In the process of editing the research paper, the student obtains extended knowledge of a specific area of study related to the chosen research topic.
7. During his work in the classes, the student develops the ability to form a research problem, its conceptualization, and operationalization, to present the goal of the research, research question and research hypothesis. Student can construct a bibliography, employ proper references, prepare data to be presented in a table and in a figure, make tables and figures along with their proper description, and above all organizes their work along the stages of the research study and plans, evaluates, and corrects the structure of the academic paper.
8. Student can write an academic paper that outlines the research problem, its analysis and its solution.
9. Student can participate in a debate, form oral statements, and present the results of a study in a synthetic form.
10. Student can search and evaluate the usefulness of the literature and data sources, which he uses to calculate measures of demographic processes (indexes of births, deaths in cross-sectional, longitudinal, and cross-section-longitudinal approach, natural and real population growth, probability of death, life expectancy).
11. A student develops a culture of oral and written statements.
12. A student values private and social returns to teamwork.