DEMOGRAPHY
(AS) {DEMG}  

SM 524. (SOCI524) Advanced Topics in the Sociology of the Family. (M) Furstenberg.

The course will review a series of theoretical issues in the sociology of the family and examine major empirical studies in which theoretical advances have been made.  Special attention will be given to work that has a historical and comparative perspective.  Opportunities will be provided for original research on the family.

L/R 535. (SOCI535) Quantitative Methods in Sociology I. (A) Allison, Smith. Prerequisite(s): Basic algebra.

This course is an introduction to the practice of statistics in social and behavioral sciences.  It is open to beginning graduate students and--with the permission of the instructor--advanced undergraduates.  Topics covered include the description of social science data, in graphical and non-graphical form; correlation and other forms of association, including cross-tabulation; bivariate regression; an introduction to probability theory; the logic of samplying; the logic of statistical inference and significane tests.  Some data manipulation will require the use of a statistical computer "package," STATA; but the greater emphasis of the course will be on conceptualization and the ability to manipulate these new ideas both with and without access to statistical software.  There is a lecture twice weekly and a mandatory "lab."

L/R 536. (SOCI536) Quantitative Methods in Sociology II. (B) Allison, Kohler. Prerequisite(s): SOCI 535 or permission of instructor.

A course in applied linear modeling.  Emphasis on the theory and practice of multiple regression and analysis of variance, with extensions to path analysis and other simultaneous equation methods.  Some data manipulation will require the use of a statistical computer "package, "STATA" but the greater emphasis of the course will be on conceptualization and the ability to manipulate these new ideas both with and without access to statistical software.

SM 541. (SOCI541, GSOC532) Gender, the Labor Force, and Markets. (M) Madden.

Drawing from sociology, economics and demography, this course examines the causes and effects of gender differences in labor force participation, earnings and occupation in the United States and in the rest of the developed and developing world.  Differences by race and ethnicity are also considered. Theories of labor supply, marriage, human capital and discrimination are explored as explanations for the observed trends.  Finally, the course reviews current labor market policies and uses the theories of labor supply, marriage, human capital and discrimination to evaluate their effects on women and men.

SM 550. (SOCI550) Social Inequality. (M) Jacobs.

This course will study social stratification primarily in contemporary societies.  We will examine both the distribution of social rewards as well as process for the allocation of these rewards.  Stratification theory and research on social mobility will be considered.  Topics include the influence of education, race and gender, and structural and organizational factors on individual success.  Acquaintance with stratification theory and quantitative methods would be helpful but not required.

SM 583. (SOCI583) Sociology of Medicine. (C) Bosk.

Health and illness, and medical care, education, and research are examined in a social, cultural and cross-cultural perspective, with special attention to present-day American society.  The course is developed around lectures and class discussion.

SM 594. (SOCI594) History of Population. (M) Staff.

The aim of the course is to present a view of how western populations in the past were coping with demographic issues of survival, reproduction, and social organization.  The focus of the course will be on demographic mechanisms rather than on methodology; on the transmission of ideas on disease and reproduction rather than on quantitative estimates of mortality and fertility. 1.How do we know: A discussion of sources 2.Mortality: Homeostatic mechanisms 3.Epidemiology, then and now 4.The Mortality transition 5.Family and marriage 6.Pre-industrial fertility control 7.Ideology and technology in family limitation 8.Marital, pre- and extra- 9.The fertility transition

604. (SOCI604) Methodology of Social Research. (B) Staff.

This is a class on methodology used in social research.  We shall study the history, logic and design of social research.  Several classes will include presentations by other members of the standing faculty.  Discussions will be based in part on student responses to weekly assignments and critiques of published research.  Students will discuss their assignments in class. Attendance is mandatory.  There will be no grades of Incomplete.

609. (SOCI609) Basic Methods of Demography. (A) Elo, Smith, Preston.

The course is designed to introduce students to basic concepts of demographic measurement and modeling used to study changes in population size and composition.  The course covers basic measures of mortality, fertility and migration; life table construction; multiple decrement life tables; stable populations; population projections; and age patterns of vital events. Students will learn to apply demographic methods through a series of weekly problem sets.

SM 630. (SOCI630) Advanced Special Topics. (C)

SM 633. (SOCI633) Population Processes I. (A) Elo, Ewbank, Kohler, Preston, Soldo.

Population Processes (PP) I is part of a two-course sequence designed to introduce students to the core areas of demography (fertility, mortality, migration, and population aging) and recent developments in the field.  PP I is designed as a survey course to introduce students to a broad set of issues in health and mortality, and individual and population aging.  The course covers topics in demographic and social perspectives on health and mortality in developed and developing countries and topics in population aging, such as global trends in disease, disability, and aging, biologic and social aspects of aging, and health inequalities at older ages.  The course format consists of lectures and class discussions.  The tow course sequence is required of Ph.D. students in Demography.  Others interested in enrolling in only one of the courses may do so with the permission of the Chair of the Graduate Group in Demography.

SM 634. (SOCI634) Population Processes II. (B) Kohler, Smith, van de Walle.

Population Processes (PP) II is a part of a two-course sequence designed to introduce students to the core areas of demography (fertility, mortality, migration, and population aging) and recent developments in the field.  PP II focuses on biological, social, and demographic factors explaining levels, trends, and differentials in human fertility transition with an emphasis on the historical and current course of fertility transition in developed and developing countries.  In addition the course covers topics in family demography.  The course format consists of lectures and class discussions. The two course sequence is required of Ph.D. students in Demography.  Others interested in enrolling in only one of the courses may do so with the permission of the Chair of the Graduate Group in Demography.

SM 653. (SOCI653) Individual & Population Aging. (M) Soldo, Ewbank.

Population aging results inevitably from a reduced fertility and improved survivorship.  But shifts in age structure also imply changing disease progiles, macro-economic strains, work patterns, family structures, and social norms.  Integrating research from demography, sociology, epidemiology, and economics, this course examines select topics, including the trade-off between quantity vs. quality of life, intergenerational transfer systems across 3 and 4 generation families (allocations, investments, and returns), and wealth inequalities in latter life (new or continuing poverty for women and minorities).  The life-course model organized the study of individual again while a cohort perspective guides the study of population aging.

SM 670. (SOCI670) Family Data. (C) Edin, Harknett.

This two semester course will engage each graduate student in an analysis project with qualitative and quantitative components, using a linked qualitative longitudinal data set.  Students will use survey data from the baseline and 12 month wave of the Fragile Families study (described at http://crcw.princeton.edu/fragilefamilies/), a national survey of unwed and married parents who have just had a child (with unmarried parents over sampled) They will also use transcripts and coded data from the TLC3 study, which involved qualitative couple and individual interviews conducted with a subset of 75 of the couples in the FF survey in 3 waves: about 3 months after the birth and then again 12 and 24 months after the birth.  Most of these are low-income, unmarried, cohabiting parents.  The goal of the course is for each student to use these two data sets, and the analytic techniques and literature covered in the course, to write a paper that can be submitted for publication. The spring will also include lots of tips on how to construct a publishable paper.  Students should only enroll in this course if they plan to take the spring sequel course as well.

SM 677. (SOCI677) International Migration. (M) Staff.

A comprehensive review of theories and research on international migration. The course introduces the basic precepts of neoclassical economics, the new economics of labor migration, segmented labor market theory, world systems theory, social capital theory, and the theory of cumulative causation. Readings examine patterns and processes of global migration during the classic age from 1800-1914 as well as during the postwar period from 1945 to the present.  The course concludes with an evaluation of immigration policies in the United States.

SM 707. (SOCI707) Seminar in Demographic Research. (B) Staff.

This course is intended to hone the skills and judgment in order to conduct independent research in sociology and demography.  We will discuss the selection of intellectually strategic research questions and practical research designs.  Students will get experience with proposal writing, the process of editing successive drafts of manuscripts, and the oral presentation of work in progress as well as finished research projects.  The course is designed to be the context in which master's papers and second year research papers are written.  This is a required course for second year graduate students in Sociology and Demography.

SM 708. (SOCI708) Seminar: Demographic Research II. (B) Staff.

A second semester of an intensive course in preparing a major independent research paper.  This is a required course for second year demography students.

SM 731. (SOCI731) Advanced Demographic Methods. (M) Staff.

This course considers a variety of procedures for measuring and modeling demographic processes.  These include increment/decrement tables, generalizations of stable population relations, two-sex models, and indirect estimation procedures.

SM 777. (SOCI777) Special Topics in Demography. (M) Staff.

Biodemography: Biodemography is a relatively new and interdisciplinary field that integrates theory and methods from the fields of demography, anthropology, sociology, evolutionary biology, molecular biology and populationbiology in order to understand demographic behaviors and outcomes. This course contains an introduction to the theory, methods, and literature of biodemographic research.  It examines the biological and ecological mechanisms contributing to aging, mortality, fertility, and population growth and decline, and the life history implications of these patterns.  The course focuses on modern human populations, but includes also examples from pre-historic and historic populations, as well as non-human model systems (e.g. non-human primates, fruit flies, nematode worms, etc.).

796. (ECON791, SOCI796) Demographic, Economic, and Social Interrelations. (C) Kohler, Madden.

The course investigates economic and social determinants of fertility, mortality, and migration, and it discusses the effects of population variables on economic and social conditions, including economic and social development. Topics discussed in the course include: How do economic changes affect marriage, divorce, and child bearing decisions?  How do households make decisions about transfers and requests?  How can economic and sociological approaches be combined in explanatory models of demography change?  How does immigration to the US affect the ethnic composition of the population, the earnings of native workers, taxes on natives, and the macro-economy?  What causes the aging of populations, and how will population aging affect the economies of industrial nations, and in particular, pension programs like Social Security?  What accounts for the rise in women's participation in the wage labor force over the past century?  How are family composition and poverty interrelated?  Does rapid population growth slow economic development in Third World countries?  In addition to these topics, the course also covers selected methods not included in Dem/Soc 535/536 and 609.

990. Masters Thesis. (C)

999. Independent Study. (C) Staff.

Primarily for advanced students who work with individual instructors upon permission.  Intended to go beyond existing graduate courses in the study of specific problems or theories or to provide work opportunities in areas not covered by existing courses.