This comprehensive yet accessible textbook is an ideal resource for undergraduate and graduate students taking their first course in demography. Clearly explaining technical demographic issues without using extensive mathematics, Population and Society is sociologically oriented, but incorporates a variety of social sciences in its approach, including economics, political science, geography, and history. It highlights the significant impact of decision-making at the individual level - especially regarding fertility, but also mortality and migration - on population change. The text engages students by providing numerous examples of demography's practical applications in their lives, and demonstrates the extent of its relevance by examining a wide selection of data from the United States, Africa, Asia, and Europe. This thoroughly revised edition includes four new chapters, covering topics such as race and sexuality, and encourages students to consider the broad implications of population growth and change for global challenges such as environmental degradation.

"An excellent introduction to the study of population and its significance for many of the key social, political, cultural and environmental issues facing the world today. It covers population growth, ageing, migration and mobility, parenting, health inequalities, and much more... The authors do not shy away from areas of continuing debate, providing both sides of an argument and encouraging readers to follow up the original sources" - Tony Champion, Emeritus Professor of Population Geography, Centre for Urban, Regional & Development Studies, Newcastle University and Vice President, British Society for Population Studies, 2011-2013 Population and Society is an undergraduate introduction to population that explains the latest trends in population studies. The text provides a detailed and completely accessible overview that: situates demographic events - fertility, mortality and migration - within the context of broader social impacts and theorisations like social inequalities, individualisation and life course analysis uses global illustrative examples to demonstrate the importance of data and data interpretation in population studies is illustrated throughout with pedagogic features, like chapter opening summaries, suggestions for further readings and case study examples. This text will be widely used as the standard and most up-to-date text on population and society for courses across the social sciences.

This exciting new book presents the field of social demography, animating the study of population with a vibrant sociological imagination. Gregg Lee Carter provides multiple demonstrations of how taking a demographic perspective can give us a better understanding of social phenomena once thought to be largely the products of culture, politics, or the economy. Five key chapters concentrate on (1) the social and individual determinants of fertility, mortality, and migration; (2) the social and individual impacts of changing levels of fertility, mortality, and migration; and (3) the impacts of overpopulation on the environment, and how changes in the environment, in turn, impact the human condition, especially regarding migration. What gives these analyses coherence is how each emphasizes the ways in which demographic forces both reflect and limit individual choices. Written in a straightforward and engaging style, and without getting bogged down in academic debates, this concise book is the ideal introduction and primer for courses in social demography and population and society.

This exciting new book presents the field of social demography, animating the study of population with a vibrant sociological imagination. Gregg Lee Carter provides multiple demonstrations of how taking a demographic perspective can give us a better understanding of social phenomena once thought to be largely the products of culture, politics, or the economy. Five key chapters concentrate on (1) the social and individual determinants of fertility, mortality, and migration; (2) the social and individual impacts of changing levels of fertility, mortality, and migration; and (3) the impacts of overpopulation on the environment, and how changes in the environment, in turn, impact the human condition, especially regarding migration. What gives these analyses coherence is how each emphasizes the ways in which demographic forces both reflect and limit individual choices. Written in a straightforward and engaging style, and without getting bogged down in academic debates, this concise book is the ideal introduction and primer for courses in social demography and population and society.

These twenty-five readings are essential to the study of population and society. The two basic perspectives, Malthusian and Marxist, are well articulated from the start. Some selections are classic, chosen on the strength of their centrality to the popular literature, while others are contemporary and controversial.

This book contains the latest research on social and economic trends occurring in rural America. It provides a unique focus on rural demography and the interaction between population dynamics and local social and economic change. It is also the first volume on rural population that exploits data from Census 2000 The book highlights major themes transforming contemporary rural areas and each is examined with an expanded overview and case study.

This second edition brings together a broad selection of classic and contemporary works in the study of human population and society. Integrating a unique global perspective throughout, the text examines the foundational principles and theories of demography before addressing such topics asthe relationship between individual action and demographic phenomena; principles of aging composition; nuptiality and family processes; fertility, mortality, and migration; environmental issues; and population policy concerns. Introductory overviews for each of the ten sections establish commonunderlying themes and give students a contextual framework for the readings that follow. With twenty-three new readings by Canadian and international scholars and a fully updated pedagogical program, this comprehensive collection is an essential resource for studying population and society.