Topic:  Population & the Environment

This course serves three purposes.  First, as an introductory level
sociology class, it will introduce you to some of the ways that
sociologists view the world.  In particular, we will consider the
importance of social structure in understanding the relationship
between population change and environmental change.  Second, this
course will serve as a partial introduction to the field of
population studies (or demography).  Population studies is an
interdisciplinary field, including sociologists, anthropologists,
economists, geographers, public health researchers, and others.
Demographers also have a particular way of viewing the world, and
this view will inform this course.  Third, this course will
introduce you to the specific field of population and environment.
We will cover basic theories and findings from this field.  In
addition, we will read about and discuss the public policy
discussions that have come out of the population and environment
field.

	This course will teach you both facts and skills, and will
also help you process the politically charged arguments often made
in debates about population policy and environmental policy.  At the
end of the course, you will have a basic familiarity with the
theories developed for understanding how people affect the
environment, and with the current state of research in this area.
Most importantly, you will be able to think critically about the
claims that are made about population effects on the environment.
There are no clear answers in the political debates that surround
these issues.  I will help you learn to be an informed consumer of
the arguments put forth by politicians and other advocates, and to
formulate your own opinions based on research and your own political
views.