Population Geography
Geog. 321 (03195) 521 (03214)
Winter, 2005
Clippinger 119 Monday & Wednesday 1:10—3:00 pm
Prof. Brad Jokisch
Office Hours: My office is Clippinger 113. I will be available from 9:00—11:00 pm on Monday & Wednesdays. If
you have a scheduling conflict we can arrange to meet another time.
Phone: 593-1143
Email: jokisch@ohio.edu
The class focuses on understanding the history, effects, and geographic variation of population change. The class will
examine theories that explain the causes of demographic change, variation, and how population is related to
environmental change. The class focuses most heavily on understanding population and environment/development,
and migration. The class will spend less time addressing mortality, fertility and population policy.
Textbook:
Weeks, John R. 2005 Population: An Introduction to Concepts and Issues, 9th ed. by John R. Weeks, Wadsworth
Publishing
Book Review:
Mahler, Sarah J. 1995 American Dreaming: Immigrant Life on the Margins, Princeton Univ. Press, Princeton, NJ.
Additional readings will also be assigned and announced in class. The readings will be on reserve at the library.
Course Outline: The following is an outline of the topics we will discuss in class. I will announce each week which
sections we will discuss in the upcoming classes, and what readings accompany the section. If I make revisions to the
syllabus, I will make an announcement in class. It is the student’s responsibility to be in class to learn of any changes
to the syllabus.
I. Introduction of Course Themes and Population as a Geographic Subject
Data, Censuses and Terms. Weeks: Chapter 1, 4
II. A Brief History of the Geography of Population Growth
Weeks: Chapter 2
III. Perspectives on Population--Population and Environment
Weeks: Chapters 3 & 12
Midterm
IV. Mortality
Weeks: Chapter 5
V. Fertility
Weeks: Chapter 6
VI. Migration and Urbanization
Weeks: Chapters 7, 11.
The final exam will be held Wednesday, March 16, at 12:20 p.m.
GRADING
Undergraduates
Exams
2 X 100 = 200 pt.
Discussion Paper
100 pt.
Book Review
100 pt.
Total Points
400
GRADING
Graduate Students
Exams
2 X 100 = 200 pt.
Discussion Paper
50 pt.
Research Paper
100 pt.
Total Points
350
A 94—100%
70—73%
A- 90—93% B+ 87—89% B 84—86% B- 80—83% C+ 77—79% C 74—76% C-
D+ 67—69%
D 64—66% D- 60—63% F Below 60%
Assignments and Evaluation: Everyone will have two exams—a midterm and a final. The date of the midterm will be
announced in class at least one week prior to the exam and the final is March 16, at 12:20 pm.
Undergraduates will have two assignments—a discussion paper and a book review. The discussion paper will
be due Monday, January 24 in class. The review will be due in approximately the 8th week; by the midterm I will
establish a due date. The specifics of the assignments will be discussed in class and a handout of the expectations and
due date will be distributed
Graduate students will complete a discussion paper similar to that assigned to undergraduates and complete a
10-12 page research paper, which is due no later than Friday, March 11. Graduate students must meet with me to
discuss the topic of the paper and receive approval for the research topic. The specific requirements will be distributed
as part of a handout. Graduate students will also have additional readings assigned to them. For all students, papers
turned in late will be lowered 1/3 of a grade per day late.
Attendance is required for all students, but I do not take attendance and no part of your grade is explicitly
“attendance”. Please arrive to class on time, and if you are late, use the rear door only.
A note on test policy: As a rule I do not allow make-up exams because it is not fair to the students who took the exam
at the scheduled time. I will make exceptions in the case of emergencies or university-approved absence (see student
handbook). If you become ill or injured and miss an exam you must contact me within 24 hours. Any student
requiring special assistance during exams should speak to me before the exam. I will not offer an earlier final exam
date. (Wednesday, March 16, 12:20 pm)
Cheating: Do not attempt to cheat on an exam or your assigned work. University rules are in effect concerning
cheating and any other form of academic dishonesty. You must be the author of your own papers/projects and all work
must be cited appropriately to avoid plagiarism. If you plagiarize your written work or cheat on an exam you will
receive an F for the assignment and referred to university judiciaries. A second case of plagiarism will result in an
automatic F for the course. Although we will discuss the subject in class, if you are unsure as to what constitutes
plagiarism, it is your responsibility to speak to me so that plagiarism is avoided. .
Readings for Assignment #1 (David Harvey’s article is required for Grad students and optional for undergrads.)
Hardin, Garrett 1968 “The Tragedy of the Commons” Science, Dec. 13, pp. 1243-1248.
Hartman, Betsy 1995 “The Malthusian Orthodoxy”, pp. 13-40 in Reproductive Rights and Wrongs, Boston, South
End Press.
Malthus, Thomas 1998 (1798) “An Essay on the Principle of Population as it affects the Future Improvement of
Society”, pp. 41-50 in The Economics of Population: Classic Writings, Julian Simon ed. Transaction
Publishers, New Brunswick, NJ.
Simon, Julian 1990 (1981) “World Population Growth: Facts and Consequences”, pp. 162-173 in Population
Matters: People, Resources, Environment, and Immigration, ed. Julian Simon, Transaction Publishers, New
Brunswick, NJ.
Additional Articles for All Geography 321/521 Students
Itzigsohn, Jose, Cabral, Carlos Dore, Medina, Esther Hernández, Vázquez, Obed 1999 “Mapping Dominican
transnationalism: narrow and broad transnational practices” Ethnic and Racial Studies 22(2): 316-339.
Lutz, Wolfgang, Brian O’Neill, Sergei Scherbov 2003 “Europe’s Population at a Turning Point”, Science 299:
1991-1992, March 28.
Panayotou, Theodore 1994 “The Population, Environment, and Development Nexus” pp. 149-180 in Population and
Development: Old Debates, New Conclusions, Cassen, R. (ed.) Transaction Publishers New Brunswick and
Oxford.
Patel, Tulsi 1994 Fertility Behaviour: Population and Society in a Rajasthan Village chapter 3 pp. 74-105, Delhi,
Oxford Univ. Press.
Sen, Amartya 1993 “The Economics of Life and Death”, Scientific American May, pp. 40-47.
Articles for Graduate Students
Cornelius, Wayne 2001 “Death at the Border: Efficacy and Unintended Consequences of US Immigration Control”,
Population and Development Review, 27(4):661-685.
Glick Schiller, Nina 1999 “Transmigrants and Nation-States: Something Old and Something New in the U.S.
Immigrant Experience” pp. 94-119 in The Handbook on International Migration, (ed.) C. Hirschman et al.,
Russell Sage Foundation, New York.
Harvey, David 1974 “Population, Resources, and the Ideology of Science”, Economic Geography 50(3): 256-277.
Massey, Douglas 1999 “Why does Immigration Occur? A Theoretical Synthesis” pp. 34-52 in The Handbook on
International Migration, (ed.) C. Hirschman et al., Russell Sage Foundation, New York.
EITHER LEACH & FAIRHEAD or STONICH
Leach, Melissa, Fairhead, James 2000 “Challenging Neo-Malthusian Deforestation Analyses in West Africa’s
Dynamic Forest Landscapes”, Population and Development Review 26(1):17-43.
Stonich, Susan 1989 “The Dynamics of Social Processes and Environmental Destruction: A Central American Case
Study”, Population and Development Review 15(2):269-296.