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290046 SE Masterseminar aus Humangeographie: Population dynamics in Asia and Africa. Comparative perspectives. (2020S)

4.00 ECTS (2.00 SWS), SPL 29 - Geographie
Continuous assessment of course work
Moodle

Registration/Deregistration

Note: The time of your registration within the registration period has no effect on the allocation of places (no first come, first served).

Details

max. 20 participants
Language: English

Lecturers

Classes (iCal) - next class is marked with N

  • Tuesday 03.03. 11:00 - 13:00 Hörsaal 5A Geographie NIG 5.OG A0518
  • Tuesday 10.03. 11:00 - 14:15 Seminarraum 2A310 3.OG UZA II
  • Tuesday 17.03. 11:00 - 13:00 Hörsaal 5A Geographie NIG 5.OG A0518
  • Tuesday 24.03. 11:00 - 13:00 Hörsaal 5A Geographie NIG 5.OG A0518
  • Tuesday 31.03. 12:15 - 14:15 Seminarraum 2A310 3.OG UZA II
  • Tuesday 21.04. 12:15 - 14:15 Seminarraum 2A310 3.OG UZA II
  • Tuesday 28.04. 12:15 - 14:15 Seminarraum 2A310 3.OG UZA II
  • Tuesday 05.05. 10:15 - 13:00 Hörsaal 4C Geographie NIG 4.OG C0409

Information

Aims, contents and method of the course

In the latter half of the 20th century, East Asian countries successfully capitalized on shifts in their age structures to gain a boost in economic productivity, a phenomenon known as the demographic dividend. As Africa’s total fertility rate and its dependency ratio have been falling since the 1980s, and are projected to fall further, will a demographic dividend be also observed there in the near future?
If the future will very much depend on what policies each country puts in place, it remains crucial to understand better the causes and consequences of the population changes underway in Asia and in Africa to unravel the complexity of the global development realities from socio-cultural, economic and political perspectives.
The seminar will enable students to enhance their knowledge of the disciplinary fields of population geography and demography through the lens of a comparative approach.
Key issues of African and Asian fertility, morbidity, mortality and migration systems and trends along with their specific data sources and problems will be reviewed and discussed jointly. At the end of the course, the students should be able to critically discuss the nature and situations of African and Asian demography, and interpret existing policies, programmes, graphs and data accurately and apply their academic knowledge to real world events.
The working methods used in the seminar will be adapted to fit e-learning activities.

Assessment and permitted materials

The following requirements must be fulfilled in order to pass the course:
• active participation on moodle and regular submission of the portfolio
• 5-min elevator pitch with props allowed + Q&A session (online if needed)
• writing of a short term paper (~10 pages)

Minimum requirements and assessment criteria

The famelab presentation (35%) and term paper (45%) will be marked individually as well as portfolios & active participation on moodle (20%). Assignments have to be passed individually. An assignment is passed with a minimum grade of 4.
Grading scheme:
100 - 87,5 % - grade 1
87,5 - 75 % - grade 2
75 - 62,5 % - grade 3
62,5 - 50 % - grade 4
less than 50% - grade 5
An additional grading scheme for presentation and term papers can be downloaded from the Moodle platform and will be explained in the course.

A great motivation to research, read, present and discuss (in English) the most relevant issues dealing with population dynamics in Asia AND Africa is sought.

Examination topics

The examination will encompass the work items as outlined in the course requirements.

Reading list

All texts for compulsory readings can be downloaded in the Moodle course. Additional literature research will be mandatory. For selected literature, see below:
Groth, H., & May, J. F. (Eds.). (2017). Africa's population: In search of a demographic dividend. Springer.
Gupta, M. D., Kim, D. S., Li, S., & Pande, R. P. (2017). Son preference, sex ratios and ‘missing girls’ in Asia. In Routledge Handbook of Asian Demography (pp. 151-167). Routledge.
Aryeetey, E., Nissanke, M., & Weder, B. (Eds.). (2003). Asia and Africa in the global economy. United Nations University Press.
Lawrence, P., & Thirtle, C. (Eds.). (2001). Africa and Asia in comparative economic perspective. Springer.
DESA, U. (2019). United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. World Population Prospects 2019: Highlights.

Association in the course directory

(MG-S4-PI.f) (MA UF GW 02)

Last modified: Mo 27.07.2026 11:13