SOC/COD 585
Population and Environment
Summer II 2008

Guidelines: Current Issues
in Demography Presentation

Printer Friendly Version

Assignment

The purpose of this assignment is for you to critically examine a current issue in demography, such as immigration, depopulation, or aging.  First, select a current issue related to a demographic topic, next, find three current news articles pertaining to the issue, and finally, prepare and give a presentation in which you critically analyze the events reported in the news article in light of the demographic issue.

Articles

You should choose at least three current newspaper articles.  The articles should come from reputable newspapers, and may be found directly in newspaper collections (such as at a library or archive) or through on-line collections.  Most major newspapers have internet archives of their recent editions.  Your articles should be dated May, June or July, 2008.  Make sure the date and source are clearly identified on the article.

The articles need not discuss demography directly.  Ideally, you will select articles that discuss events that are caused by demographic change or that illustrate a particular demographic issue that we have addressed in class.  For example, you may find three articles that discuss how communities are adapting to an influx of Latino immigrants.

The articles may address one topic sequentially, for example, reporting over the period of several weeks in one newspaper about a policy issue being debated in a public forum, or they may address a similar issue in different locations, for example, articles in newspapers from three different cities that cover local events that are linked by demographic themes.

The best way to find the articles is to identify a topic of interest, then search through a newspaper to find articles that may address this topic.  You probably will read numerous articles to find three that are appropriate.  Simply entering a search term into Google and printing out the first three articles that appear will not produce a thoughtful nor insightful presentation.

Presentation

You will prepare a 20-minute presentation on your topic, and present it to the class during the third week of class (beginning on July 16).  Your presentation should explain the events and topic, and should make it clear how we can apply demographic concepts to understand current issues in the news.