Disciplines and Ideas in the Social Sciences (Week 2)

Demography
 Demography is an interdisciplinary study
Demography of population.
 Studying population patterns can be helpful
in shaping policy outcomes as these can
Demography impact the public interest and might
influence the government’s views towards
different basic social services.
Demography
Through the Years
• The Persian Empire conducted a
census from 500 to 499 BCE.
•In the fall of 2 CE, the Han Dynasty
of ancient China conducted a
census throughout the region. In
general ancient census were done
for the issuance of land grants and
taxation.
• In 1370 CE, the Ming Dynasty made
modifications to the centuries-old
census system by including the data
such as the age, sec, and
relationship to the household and
all members of the household.
William I
In 1086, William I of England
undertook a comprehensive
census accounted for and
evaluated all taxable lands and
resources in the kingdom of
England.
This census is popularly known
in history as the Domesday
Book.
 John Graunt
John Graunt created the first life
table for the population in England
in the year 1662.
This table presented detailed data
on the mortality rate in England,
and predicted the percentages of
the English populace that would
survive from age to age, given the
condition of the time period.
 Thomas Malthus
Thomas Malthus was a prominent
English economist of the 17th century
and also was one of the pioneers to
embark on a formal study of
population.
In his influential Essay on Population,
he probed the impact of a great
increase in population on human
welfare which stimulated
interdisciplinary studies between
demography and other disciplines.
Demography and its
Subdisciplines
 Formal demography deals with fertility, marriage/union
formation and dissolution, mortality, and migration,
using specific demographic methods and measures.
Formal Demography Areas of interest in formal demography include the
application of calculus to demographic indices and
mathematical biodemography.
 Social demography uses demographic data in explaining
and predicting social phenomena.

Social Demography They focus on different determinants of population

changes and their impact on societies, economics,
environment, and politics which connects demography
to other fields of study.