SGLK13002U Population Dynamics and Drivers of Change in Health

This course will enable participants to acquire a thorough knowledge and understanding of population dynamics across the globe. Small and large-scale migrations of different types (forced, voluntary, and semi-voluntary) and modalities of resettlement will be examined using appropriate demographic models and tools. Demographic trends will be interpreted through qualitative narratives – including ethnographic methods.  The focus of attention will be on health, social systems, and sub-systems nested within larger “Complex Adaptive Systems” (CAS) that form the backbone of dynamic population pyramids. Course participants will be familiarized with complexity theory as it applies to population dynamics: migration, health, crisis, and transformative change in different parts of the world.

Topics to be explored include: resilience, a key topic of investigation through exploring the realities and challenges of predictable and unpredictable catastrophes associated with climate change, rising sea levels, and loss of arable and/or habitable land causing economic and social vulnerabilities; and armed conflict arising from natural resource exploitations.  Course participants will be trained to identify interdisciplinary and innovative approaches to framing, defining, and evaluating key concepts and formulating research questions. This course is designed to provide the participants knowledge and skills that are synergistic with the other courses offered during the first year in preparation for the participants’ direct involvement in research, be it field-based or through library-based desk study.