Blackwell Reference Online

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Describing the study of human populations, the term embraces a vast array of work, but at its core are three central concerns: 1  The size and make-up of populations according to diverse criteria (age, sex, marital status, educational attainment, and so on). In short, cross-sectional pictures of a population at a fixed moment in time. 2  The different processes which directly influence the composition of populations (fertility, mortality, nuptiality, M igration , and so on). 3  The relationship between these static and dynamic elements and the social, economic and cultural environment within which they exist. Although there is no strict division, a contrast is frequently made between formal or technical demography on the one hand, and social demography or population studies on the other. The former is concerned mainly with the collection and analysis of data, while the latter implies a wider frame of reference drawing in work from related fields. From its origins in actuarial studies, demography has been pushed forward by a variety of motivations. Much of the research carried out in the early twentieth century had close links to E ugenics as scholars sought to discover the quantitative dimensions of social and racial differentiation. Following World War II and the abuse of eugenic research by Nazism, the motivation waned. However, the rise of S ociobiology in the 1970s led to ... log in or subscribe to read full text