Readings for Sociology 43402
Population Dynamics
Spring 2019 [Course Completed]
NOTE: Readings will usually be posted at least a week or two in advance. If you want to get a feel for what is coming, you can check out the Spring 2018 Reading List. Readings this year will be similar, with a few additions and deletions.
Part I of Course:
Historical Overview
Are more people alive now than have even been dead? Carl Haub gives the answer in How many people have ever lived on Earth? Updated March 2018.
What happens to the age structure of a population when mortality first starts to go down? Ansley Coale's answer may surprise you in How a population ages or grows younger.
The US population hit 300 million in 2006. The Census Bureau helps place that in perspective by comparing the US when it hit 300 million, 200 million and 100 million.
[Optional] If you want to know what things will be like in the next life, fivethirtyeight recasts Carl Haub's arguments and asks What are the Demographics of Heaven?
Population, Resources, Environment and Food
Lundquist's chapter 3, "Population Growth," is very good. Pay particular attention to her discussion of The Demographic Transition (pp. 56-60) and her discussion of Marx and Malthus (pp. 68-70). Here is a scanned copy of the chapter in case your text has not arrived yet. (Sorry, this is the only scanned chapter I have.)
In 2006 climatecrisis.net warned that if global warming continues, the consequences will be catastrophic. Dartmouth physicist Marcelo Gleiser says that after 10 years, An Inconvenient Truth is still inconvenient. David Leonhart says the biggest story of 2018 was climate change. The United States military breaks from its commander in chief and says Climate Change Endangers National Security. Lyndsay Abrams lists 4 myths that climate deniers can now turn to.
So why isn't there greater concern? PATRICK J. EGAN and MEGAN MULLIN warn that people may not be too worried because Global Warming feels quite pleasant -- but only in the short run. The New York Times explains why the predicted horrors of The Population Bomb haven't materialized (at least not yet). Here is the video (which I may show in class if time permits) that goes with the article.
Time and ABC News explain why blizzards and global warming go together. Fox News reviews other perspectives.
Believe it or not, in much of the US, extreme cold is becoming more rare. XKCD Comics nicely summarized what is going on. The New York Times can tell you How Much Hotter Is Your Hometown Than When You Were Born?
Your text summarizes the Malthusian perspective, but there are several other perspectives worth knowing. "Adding more people causes problems, but people are also the means to solve these problems." So argued Julian Simon in his famous 1981 essay on World Population Growth: An Anti-Doomsday view. Nearly forty years later David Von Drehle echoed Simon and warned Don't Fall for the Doomsday Predictions. Frances Moore Lappe's Food First perspective seems to agree with much of what Marx said about population issues and presents these 12 Myths about Hunger. The 19th Century Irish Potato Famine and today's Global Farmland Rush might seem to support Lappe's arguments.
Bjorn Lomborg has been one of the leading skeptics on climate change. In 2009, he surprised people when he said the evidence on global warming was unequivocal -- but he says current proposals are misguided and we have to find cheaper and more effective ways to deal with the problem. Ross Douthat and David Leonhart debate the conservative case against climate legislation.
[Optional] The water supply for millions of people is being threatened by vanishing glaciers. Neil Irwin warns that Climate Change is going to have a Giant Impact on the Economy. The Washington Post offers 11 Policy Ideas to Protect the Planet. (All of these articles are from January 2019 -- and several more could have been included too.)
[Optional] Donald Trump says he doesn't believe in man-made climate change. A November 2017 US government report disagrees. The NY Times Editorial Board says Trump Imperils the Planet. Here is a more detailed discussion of the (sometimes very contradictory) things Donald Trump has said about climate change.
[Optional] Sixteen concerned scientists said there is no need to panic about global warming. Yale Professor William Nordquist offers a detailed response and explains why he thinks the global warming skeptics are wrong.
[Optional] A December 2017 report says that the most accurate climate change models predict the most alarming conseuences. Takepart.com highlights what has changed for the climate (both positive and negative) since An Inconvenient Truth was released in 2006. In this January 2018 video (about 6 minutes) the NY Times asks Are billion dollar storms the new normal? The National Center for Environmental Information says that 2017 was a historic year for US weather and climate disasters.
[Optional] 2016 was the hottest year on Earth since record-keeping began -- in fact it may have been the hottest it has been in 125,000 years. 2012 was the hottest year ever in the US., leading Bryan Walsh to ask Now do you believe in global warming?
[Optional] In January 2014 Chris Mooney once again made the argument that Winter does not disprove Global Warming.
[Optional] Experts at the Pentagon warned in 2009 that climate change is a threat to US Security and could lead to military interventions. A 2012 report done for the CIA outlines the perils of climate change for the US military. An August 2013 study claims that global warming could cause a 50 percent increase in violent conflict. A January 2014 UN Study says another 15 years of failure to limit carbon emissions could make the problem virtually impossible to solve with current technologies.
[Optional] Phil Plait noted in January 2014 that almost all peer reviewed articles support global warming.
[Optional] Your text summarizes the Malthusian perspective - but if you want to read the original, here is what Malthus himself had to say in An essay on the principle of population. Twenty-five years after Simon, Business Week writer Michael Mandel made similar arguments in What it means to hit 300 million. Thirty years later Charles Kenny basically updated Simon's argument and claimed the bulge in youth worldwide makes a case for optimism. Frances Moore Lappe sees some hope for the Global Food Movement. A group of conservationists says we should go nuclear to save the whales and the rest of the Earth as well. (Nuclear power, that is.)
[Optional] George Will takes issue with the doomsayers, and raises these Inconvenient Kyoto Truths. Robert Samuelson says there is a dirty secret about global warming - Any realistic response would be costly, uncertain and no doubt unpopular. That's one truth too inconvenient for almost anyone to admit. Four former heads of the Environmental Protection Agency make A Republican Case for Climate Action.
[Optional] Nicholas Kristof claims that optimal use of this miracle elixir would save 800,000 children's lives a year in developing countries - breast milk. But Zuzana Boesmova warns Breast Milk is only Free if we think Women's time is worthless.
[Optional] Mei Fong contends that China's one-child policy led to forced abortions and 30 million batchelors - and now today China isn't having enough babies. Japan isn't having enough babies either, says Catherine Rampell, and this Demographic Time Bomb could eventually hit America too.
Fertility Concepts and Trends
So, you know exactly how many kids you want, and when, right? It may be a lot harder than you think, explains John Bongaarts in Building a Family: Unplanned Events.
Even societies that make no effort to limit their fertility have far fewer births than is biologically possible. John Bongaarts helps us out again by explaining Why high birth rates are so low.
Lundquist's chapter on Fertility has a lot of additional important information. Pp. 244-258 (Starting with "explaining cohort fertility" through "gestation variables") are especially helpful.
[Optional] How many babies can fit inside a pregnant woman? Slate gives the answer in Womb for More.
Birth Cohorts
Chapter 4 of your text ("Age and Sex Structure") has a lot of relevant material. Pay particular attention to the sections on "Problems of young populations" and "Problems of old populations." Useful material on specific birth cohorts (e.g. the Baby Boomers) is scattered throughout the text and I will add more material in class.
Every year, Beloit College distributes to its faculty and staff the Beloit College Mindset List, which identifies some facts of life that distinguish this generation from those that preceded it. One of its primary purposes has been an attempt to slow the onset of "hardening of the references" experienced by some faculty. Here is what it had to say a few years ago about the classes of 2019 and 2020.
Phillip Bump gives his definitions of where each generation begins and ends. Pretty good, but I think the Pew Foundation has a better take on Where Millennials end and Generation Z begins.
They were born in the 1930s during the heart of the depression and they grew up during WWII - and they are called the "Good Times Cohort???" Carl Harter explains why. And in this excerpt from the best-selling book Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell talks about how Demographic Luck benefited the 1930s generation.
Not everyone loves your instructor's generation as much as they should. Bruce Gibney explains How the Baby Boomers Destroyed Everything.
Next up: Generation Z. The Huffington Post claims (perhaps prematurely?) that these are 8 key differences between Generation Z and Millennials.
Sophia A. McClennen says Millenials are a generation in crisis and it isn't all in their heads. A Pew Research Center Report says that Millennials are confident, connected and open to change. In her 2016 ASA Presidential Address, Ruth Milkman examines A New Political Generation: Millennials and the Post-2008 Wave of Protest. (You can skim or skip the first 5 pages but the rest is required.)
[Optional-Video] Music is an important part of every generation. Audience member Robin Lynn recounts what it is like to be forever immortalized as a 15 year old screaming girl when the Beatles came to America and performed All My Loving. Nobody knew it at the time, but a future rock superstar was on that show too. A quarter-century later, Madonna signed a multi-million dollar deal with Pepsi - only to have it canceled a few days later after her Like a Prayer video appeared. As for your generation, probably no performer has been as influential or as widely imitated as this artist - although some claim that the performances by Stephen Colbert and the Cast of Glee outdid her. Of course, for Baby Boomers, nothing will ever surpass Nobel Prize winner Bob Dylan's Original Version.
[Optional] If interested, you can check out Beloit mindsets for other years here.
[Optional] The hate continues as Joel Kotkin asks Are Baby Boomers turning out to be the worst generation? Bruce Gibney piles on and further explains why Millennials are better than Baby Boomers.
[Optional] Some fear that students are much more needy than they used to be. Daniel Gross offers his thoughts about the It-Sucks-To-Be-Me Generation. But Alex Hendersen counters with 10 reasons Millennials are screwed. Millenials have been called spoiled slackers -- but Stephen Rattner says we are being too hard on them. Age discrimination may be hurting both Baby Boomers and Millennials. Alex Williams explains how you can spot a member of Generation Z. Saturday Night Live gives its take on intergenerational warfare in Millennial Millions.
[Optional] Newsweek sized up the Baby Boomers as they approached 60. Richard Perez-Perena says there really isn't a baby boomer generation, since the early boomers and the later boomers have little in common.
[Optional] Are today's kids overindulged? Amy Chua, author of Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, criticizes Western parenting practices and explains Why Chinese Mothers are Superior. But former Harvard President Larry Summers points out that Mary Gates and Karen Zuckerberg weren't tiger moms. Time looks at the firestorm touched off by Amy Chau's book and asks Is tough parenting really the answer? As far as David Brooks is concerned, Amy Chua is a wimp.
[Optional] The low fertility of the Good Times Cohort is nothing compared to what is happening in Japan - causing UT-Austin's John Traphagan to ask is Japan is facing death by demographics? Jonathan Last argues that America's Baby Bust is a serious cause for concern and we need to start having more children.
Fertility Issues: Teenage Sex and Unwed Pregnancy
About 40 percent of all babies in the US are now born out of wedlock -- almost double the rate from 1980 and eight times as high as 1960. A June 2014 study finds that for people who don't have a college degree, having a child in wedlock has become the exception, not the rule. The optional readings have even more up-to-date statistics.
Child Trends summarizes the consequences of unplanned and unwanted pregnancy.
Vox explains why there has been a dramatic decrease in the teenage birth rate. Unfortunately, the US still lags behind the rest of the developed world.
Way back in 2003, the Washington Post wrote that Texas teaches abstinence, but the grades are mixed. Anna Quindlen offers her thoughts on abstinence only education. Newer statistics on Texas are in the optional readings.
Some legislators want federal programs to encourage marriage. Conservative scholar Michael Tanner disagrees. Isabel Sawhill warns that our biggest social programs, like food stamps, do not reduce child poverty as much as unmarried parenthood has increased it and offers ideas on what to do about it.
In 1992, Republican Vice Presidential nominee Dan Quayle blasted TV character Murphy Brown for having a child out of wedlock. But in 2008, when the pregnancy of Sarah Palin's unwed teenage daughter received a very different reaction, Hannah Rosen asked Why no Scarlet Letter?
[Optional] A 2018 report from Child Trends gives more details about the dramatic increase in births outside of marriage.
[Optional] There is a lot of concern about teenage sex today - but according to this study, Even Grannie had Sex.
[Optional] In Texas teenage birthrates remained high in 2018 and it was argain argued that it may be because of abstinence-only education. A 2011 study finds that rates of teen pregnancy are "significantly higher" in states that use "abstinence-only" models, while lower in those that provide a more comprehensive education. A 2016 study found that Purity Pledges often do more harm than good.
[Optional] Belinda Luscombe examines Why are we all having so little sex? If you want an even more in-depth discussion (50 pages!) The Atlantic discusses why young people are having so little sex.
[Optional] Since the early 1990s, the US teen birth rate has fallen by nearly 60 percent - but is still far higher than in Switzerland. Child Trends outlines more work that needs to be done.
[Optional] Alanna Weissman describes How Doctors Fail Women Who Don't Want Children.
[Optional] Career-oriented women who delay having children may be pleased to know that waiting to have kids literally pays off.
[Optional] Emily Yoffe reviews the evidence and says Forget Juno. Out-of-wedlock births are a national catastrophe.
Fertility Issues: Reproductive Technology
It was the first medicine ever designed to be taken regularly by people who were not sick. Its main inventor was a conservative Catholic who was looking for a treatment for infertility and instead found a guarantee of it. Its supporters hoped it would strengthen marriage by easing the strain of unwanted children but its critics charge that it gave rise to promiscuity, adultery and the breakdown of the family. On the anniversary of its approval by the FDA, Nancy Gibbs reflected on The Pill at 50: Sex, Freedom and Paradox.
The Washington Post explains how the Catholic Church almost came to accept birth control. On its 40th anniversary, National Catholic Reporter John Allen said Humanae Vitae had shown surprising resilience and that the arguments in its favor are even stronger today than in 1968. But former Catholic priest Robert McClory says Church policy has been a disaster. Liberal Catholic Joan Walsh argues that Catholics need to preach what we practice.
A 2012 study claims that free or better birth control could send the abortion rate plummeting. Melinda Gates may have been raised Catholic but she argues that being able to plan their pregnancies is nothing less than a matter of life and death for the women of the world.
Olga Khazan challenges conservative claims that not one woman struggles to afford birth control. Margot Sanger-Katz argues that better contraception could be a key to reducing poverty. But Christine Dehlendorf and Kelsey Holt warn about the dangerous rise of the IUD as a poverty cure.
Sarah Laskow says that Making Babies Outside of the Womb has Never been so Easy. The Washington Post describes The Booming Fertility Business.
The Octomom may seem like a bizarre case -- but it raises larger concerns about the practices of US fertility clinics, which often offer services outlawed elsewhere. Liza Mundey warns that there are moral dilemmas about what to do with the Souls on Ice -- the hundreds of thousands of unused embryos.
[Optional] No girls, please. Parts of Asia have low-tech ways of avoiding unwanted girls - and the methods include murder.
[Optional] A 2012 study from the National Bureau of Economic Research claimed that the pill made women richer and helped to close the wage gap. Bryce Covert argues the economy can't grow without birth control. Another 2012 study argued that better birth control could cut worldwide maternity death rates by a third.
[Optional] Ashley McGuire is leading a movement where young Catholic women are trying to modernize the Church's image and promote chemical-free natural family planning. Vogue explains Why Millennial Women Are Rejecting The Pill.
[Optional] John Haas explains the Catholic Church's Opposition to Most (but not all) Forms of Reproductive Technology.
[Optional] Controversy raged after a new rule required Catholic Colleges to pay for birth control. Nicholas Kristof said he would like to avoid offending the bishops but if he had to choose he would go with the health needs of the female half of the population. Literally hundred of scholars and religious leaders from Notre Dame and elsewhere said the Obama accommodation on birth control coverage and religiously affiliated institutions was unacceptable (just read the first 2 pages, the other 38 pages are signatures.)
[Optional] Notre Dame has changed its policy on birth control multiple times, and neither conservatives nor liberals are very happy about it.
[Optional] In Vitro Gametogenesis (IVG) could someday revolution reproduction - but a host of moral and ethical issues come with it. But Jane Brody warns about the misleading promise of IVF for women over 40. NBC says You Won't Believe What Baby-Making Science Could Soon Deliver - but a host of ethical issues come with it. But who needs high tech anyway? Learn how to get the child you want via the Ancient Art of Making Babies.
[Optional] This lengthy but very interesting piece from the Washington Post discusses how religion is coming to terms with modern fertility methods.
[Optional] Babies born thanks to IVF include Malia and Sasha Obama. At age 40, Louise Brown reflected on what it was like to grow up as the World's first test tube baby.
[Optional] IVF often results in multiple births -- and some doctors warn that that isn't healthy. Fertility fraud has many donor offspring pressing for justice.
[Optional] David Plotz tells you How to find the Right Sperm Donor. Laura Fording gives a Crash Course on Contraception.
[Optional] Some college women are finding that donating one little egg can make them a lot of money - as much as $50,000. You may think that is a lot of money -- but some egg donors claim that women are being shortchanged.
[Optional] Vatican opposition to the use of condoms in AIDS-stricken Africa created a firestorm of controversy. A man who was considered for the Papacy agrees that condoms are the "lesser evil" versus AIDS and questions other fertility-related church positions as well. But John Allen argues Pope Benedict was right to oppose condoms.
Fertility Issues: The Battle Over Reproductive Rights
How did Susan B. Anthony and other early feminists feel about abortion?
There are ongoing battles over whether or not abortion should be legal - but according to the Guttmacher Institute, across the world, abortion rates are about the same whether it is legal or not.
It is called "screening" but George Will says it is really a search and destroy mission in the attack on kids with Down Syndrome. Ruth Graham discusses How Down Syndrome is Redefining the Abortion Debate.
View Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow's seemingly innocuous Super Bowl ad that ignited a national controversy. William Saletan countered with what he called the grisly truth about the ad.
Bill O'Reilly called murdered abortion doctor George Tiller Tiller the Baby Killer, but Barbara Shelley claims he helped thousands. William Saletan asks troubling and provocative questions in Is it Wrong to Murder an Abortionist?
Georgia Right to Life touched off a firestorm of controversy when it launched a campaign claiming abortion is the primary tool in a decades-old conspiracy to kill off blacks. But Linda Greenhouse says Shirley Chisholm, the first black woman in Congress, would strongly disagree.
A 2019 proposed abortion law in Virginia sparked cries of infanticide and condemnation. But Michelle Goldberg blasted what she called the fake news about abortion in Virginia .
In 2004, it was Notre Dame intramural warfare as scholars Mark Roche, Gerard Bradley, and Charles Rice battled over whether or not Catholics could vote in good conscience for John Kerry. Douglas Kmiec is a conservative legal scholar, a former law professor at Notre Dame, and a past advisor to Ronald Reagan and Mitt Romney. But in 2008, he said Sorry McCain. Barack Obama is a natural for the Catholic vote. But on a related issue, Ross Douthat fiercely argues there is no pro-life case for Planned Parenthood.
Barack Obama's March 2009 decision to expand federal funding for stem cell research exposed sharp religious divides over when life begins. Nancy Reagan and Arthur Caplan praised the decision. Parkinson's victim Michael Kinsley explains what pro-lifers are missing in the stem cell debate.
[Optional] CNN offers some Fast Facts on Roe V Wade.
[Optional] Professor Ralph McInerny claimed that Notre Dame forfeited its right to call itself a Catholic university when it invited Barack Obama to speak at commencement. Bishop Fabian W. Bruskewitz of Lincoln said he was "utterly appalled" by Omaha native and ND President John Jenkins' "absolute indifference to the murderous abortion program and beliefs of this President of the United States." Professor Richard Williams had kinder words for his fellow Nebraskan.
[Optional] The Feminists for Life web site expands on its call for a pro-woman, pro-life feminist revolution. Pro-choice advocate Roland Klain fears that Reversing Roe V Wade will be just the beginning of the judicial attack on women's reproductive rights.
[Optional] In the views of alumnus Paul Witkowski, On abortion, Notre Dame gets only marginal grades. Notre Dame students explain Why they will join the March for Life and Why they won't. Four Notre Dame students argue that Planned Parenthood may have a new face, but it still has the same (dismal) legacy. (I'm linking to the original source because the online comments are also very good. But if the link doesn't work, a pdf version is here.)
[Optional] In 2019 New York received both praise and condemnation when it passed its own controversial law protecting abortion rights. Before judging late-term abortion doctors say you should understand what it means.
[Optional] In 2012, Notre Dame Professor Carter Snead and Princeton Professor Robert George blasted abortion provider Planned Parenthood. About the same time, John Saveland explained why he's pro-life and supports Planned Parenthood while William Saletan argued that funding Planned Parenthood was the best way to reduce the need and demand for abortions.
[Optional] Sister Margaret McBride was excommunicated for agreeing to an abortion that probably saved a woman's life. Pro-life Catholic Julianna Baggott and columnist Nicholas Kristof defended her.
[Optional] Studies from the Guttmacher Institute offer facts on induced abortion in the United States and worldwide, and also examine the reasons US women have abortions. The Guttmacher Institute further notes that the abortion rate is at an all time low -- and claims that better birth control is largely to thanks. Anti-abortion groups, however, argue that the drop shows new state restrictions on abortion are working.
[Optional] A 2018 study by the World Health Organization and the Guttmacher Institute says nearly half the world's abortions are unsafe. In Leeches, Lye and Spanish Fly, Kate Manning warns about the dangers of illegal and unsafe abortions. Personhood USA counters that a baby is not the worst thing that can happen to a rape victim -- an abortion is. Columnist Margaret Carlson is pro-choice - but even she isn't comfortable with Partial-Truth Abortion.
[Optional] Some said "The poster child jumped off the poster" when Norma McCorvey (Roe of Roe V. Wade) converted to being a pro-life advocate. The Washington Post profiled McCorvey when she died in 2017.
[Optional] Emma Green discusses whether Science Is Giving the Pro-Life Movement a Boost. Religious groups, scientists and doctors debate whether some popular forms of contraception cause abortions. Pam Belluck says science does not support claims that contraceptives are abortion-inducing. The New York Times reviews the scientific evidence and concludes abortion qualms on the morning after pill may be unfounded. National Catholic Reporter explained What an abortifacient is -- and what it isn't. Father John Jenkins chose not to include alleged abortion-causing drugs when he announced Notre Dame's new contraceptive coverage policy. Tara Culp-Pressler argues that the birth control method Hobby Lobby won't cover is leading to a decline in teenage pregnancies.
[Optional-Video] Professor Richard Williams & Father Jonathan Morris debated Barack Obama's visit to Notre Dame. Richard Williams and Randall Terry offered their opinions of each other. [NOTE: I hesitate to include videos of myself, partly because I don't like how I look but mostly because I don't want anyone to feel like they have to agree with what I say. You are free to take whatever positions you want so long as you can defend them. Also note that Williams praises the efforts of both the pro-life and pro-choice students on campus.]
[Optional-Video] In this one minute clip, Dr. Willie Parker, the only abortion provider in Mississippi, is confronted by an angry protester. The Washington Post explains Why Willie Parker changed his mind about abortion. In one of the most memorable moments of the ND Obama protests, Father Norman Weslin was arrested for defending the unborn (see especially the first 3 minutes or so). Pam and Bob Tebow expand on their pro-life beliefs and their decision not to abort Tim despite the great risks. Then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton argued that, for the women of the world, abortion should be legal, safe, and rare.
[Optional] Ohio has passed a controversial law banning abortion in Down syndrome cases. CNN expands on the ensuing controversy.
[Optional] Time notes that the life prospects for those with Down Syndrome have never been better - and the ability to abort them has never been greater. Rachel Adams says My son with Down syndrome is not a mascot for abortion restrictions. Likewise Emily Barbero opted to keep her baby, knowing that he might never walk or talk - and she tells Republicans how they can prove they are pro-life too. Mark Schrad has a child with Down Syndrome. He explains why he and his wife decided not to abort - and why he supports the right of others to choose differently. But Mark Theissen asks When will we stop killings humans with Down Syndrome? George Will condemns Iceland for its genocidal campaign to eliminate people with Down Syndrome. If you are curious about how Jonathan Will is doing, George Will updates his story here and here.
[Optional] NPR explains how China's One_Child Policy led to forced abortions and 30 million batchelors.
The Status and Roles of Men and Women
March 2017 is Women's History Month. (If you prefer, here is the March 2018 report from the Census Bureau but it is harder to read.)
Employed women are working a Second Shift when they get home, says Arlie Hothschild. Demographer and ND graduate Suzanne Bianchi, on the other hand, finds remarkable gender equality in total workloads.
Many feel that schools shortchange girls. Not Christina Hoff Sommers. Indeed, she thinks there is a War Against Boys [excerpts]. Hoff Sommers updated her arguments in the 2013 op-ed piece The Boys at the Back. Judith Warner, on the other hand, says the Boy Crisis is little more than a myth.
Women are now the backbone of the economy, says Kate Snow. In The End of Men, Hanna Rosin reports on the unprecedented gender role reversal now under way and its vast cultural consequences. [Pages 7, 8 and 13 are required; the rest of the article is highly recommended.] Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic asks the age-old question Why do So Many Incompetent Men Become Leaders? Ruth Graham says It's Time to Admit That Allowing Men Into the Workplace Was a Mistake. But Stephanie Coontz attacks The Myth of Male Decline.
Sheryl Sandberg, the chief operating officer of Facebook, attributes the gender gap in corporate leadership to chauvinism and corporate obstacles -- but also, in part, to women who don't aggressively pursue opportunities. Eve Tahmincioglu counters that women are doing all the right things but they still lag behind men.
[Optional, but highly recommended] In an interesting and entertaining four part series, Sheryl Sandberg and Adam Grant team up to explain gender discrimination at work, why women stay quiet at work, how women help more around the office but benefit less, and How Men Can Succeed in the Boardroom and the Bedroom.
[Optional] Christina Hoff-Summers and Jillian Berman debate the accuracy of the often made claim that women make 77 cents for every dollar a man earns. A November 2018 study claims the gender pay gap is even worse than we thought. Politifact further analyzes the claim that women make 77 cents for every dollar a man earns. In this lengthy but easy to read piece, Sarah Kliff tries to tell The truth about the gender wage gap.
[Optional] Why does the gender wage gap persist? Part of the reason is that As Women Take Over a Male-Dominated Field, the Pay Drops.
[Optional] In Feb 2018 Michael Ian Black agreed that The Boys are Not All Right. The Brookings Institute examines Why are so many American men not working?
[Optional] Black doctors (mostly female) tell Delta #WhatADoctorLooksLike.
[Optional] Jennifer Britz apologizes to all the girls she has rejected - for admission to college. But apologies are not enough, says Richard Whitmire. He says women are discriminated against in college admissions and they ought to sue. US News elaborates on the problems colleges are having in recruiting enough males. The week of Jan 14, 2008, NBC Nightly News ran a series of stories and videos entitled The Truth about Boys and Girls, covering many of the same topics covered here. See especially the video on college admissions.
[Optional] Why are boys so unruly? It is in their nature, says Christina Hoff Sommers, and efforts to make them more docile and emotional are misguided.
[Optional] Dan Abrams argues that Women Rule as doctors and investors. But anesthesiologist Karen Sibert says too many women doctors are working part-time and leaving the profession and we can no longer afford to continue training doctors who don't spend their careers in the fulltime practice of medicine. Eye surgeon Carolyn Anderson thinks Sibert is distorting the statistics and being unfair to women and explains why doctors should be allowed to work part-time.
[Optional] We need more more health care workers, but Men Don't Want to Be Nurses (and Their Wives Agree). More men are taking women's jobs, but it is usually disadvantaged men.
[Optional] The AFL-CIO provides these Vital Statistics for Professional Women in 2010. Some of the statistics are now a little dated, but it highlights some of the major changes that have occurred over the last century.
[Optional] On September 20, 2011, Hanna Rosin, Christina Hoff Sommers, and others participated in a debate entitled True or False: Men are Finished. And the winner was... The video (One hour and 49 minutes) is great if you have time to watch it. Time permitting, we will show excerpts (43 minutes) in class. But Hanna Rosin faced much more formidable opponents in this 5 minute debate.
[Optional] Liza Mundy talks about how the rise of female breadwinners is changing the world in Women, Money and Power.
[Optional] Tara Siegel Bernard offers A Toolkit for Women Seeking a Raise.
[Optional] The late Suzanne Bianchi received her Master's Degree from Notre Dame. Her New York Times Obituary covered some of the highlights of her life's work on gender roles.
[Optional] There have been many benefits in the gains that women have made. But Emma Green argues that as the demands on women's time increased, communities suffered, in What America Lost as Women Entered the Workforce.
[Optional] In this 2005 report, Lori Ashford takes stock of women's progress worldwide.
Demographics
John Weeks provides a brief overview of the field of Demographics.
The Harvard Business Review describes The Female Economy -- and how many businesses are foolishly ignoring it. Intel's Ekaterina Walter offers 30 stats you need to know when marketing to women. Gloria Steinem probably wishes those pieces had come out sooner -- in 1990's Sex, Lies and Advertising, she outlines the problems Ms Magazine had in overcoming stereotypes and attracting advertisers.
Even children's toys have become part of the battleground over gender roles. Organizations like Let Toys be Toys and No Gender December are battling against the gendered marketing of toys. Goldie Blox offers award-winning construction toys for girls. Here is the ad that helped to put Goldie Blox in the national spotlight. Even Barbie has come a long ways since the 1990s. Christina Hoff Summers says you can give a boy a doll but you can't make him play with it.
Brands are waking up to the opportunities that the LGBT market represents. South Bend's Gavin Ferlic argues that cities benefit economically when they are gay-friendly. Equally Wed offers help with lgbtq weddings.
Gary Rivlin explains how poverty has become a multibillion dollar business.
The Wall Street Journal warned that the GOP faced a daunting demographic challenge in 2016. But Matthew Yglesias prophetically said in 2015 that Democrats are in denial -- their party is actually in deep trouble. Nate Silver explains why almost everybody was wrong and tells The Real Story of 2016. Musa al-Gharbi of Columbia Sociology explains why, after the 2016 election, The Democratic Party is Facing a Demographic Crisis. But my graduate school classmate Ruy Teixeira offers reassurances that Things look bleak for liberals now. But they'll beat Trump in the end.
[Optional] American Demographics Magazine explains 10 major marketing blunders of the 1980s.
[Optional] Fareed Zakaria and Paula Throckmorton-Zakaria explain why advertisers historically haven't liked old people. The New York Times explains why media executives are starting to realize older people aren't so bad after all.
[Optional] Advertising Age offers seven tips on how to successfully market to women. But in spite of how important they are, the auto industry is still making lame attempts to target women. Capitalizing on the viral controversy over the dress, a surprising source asks why is it so hard to see black and blue?
[Optional] Always showed what it is really like to do things like a girl. Luckily for Target, when it got criticized for ending the labeling of boys and girls toys, an outside volunteer going by the name of Ask ForHelp chimed in on Facebook to deal with outraged customers.
[Optional] Marketers are catching on to the fact that a fourth of the world is Buying Muslim. In the US, the Hispanic and Minority markets offer a lot of opportunities and benefits to marketers.
[Optional] Ruy Texeira explained why Demography favored Obama in 2012. The Atlantic notes that more people favor the Democrats but that advantage is undercut, especially in midterm elections, because Democrats are less likely to vote. At about the same time David Horsey and David Shribman also noted that Republicans have some things going for them. Myra Adams worried that George W Bush could be the last Republican President. FiveThirtyEight offers several more analyses of what happened in 2016.
[Optional] Avis says we came out in our own time - and other companies are too as they adopt gay-friendly policies. DiversityInc says that if you want loyal customers, you should learn how to reach gay consumers.The NY Times reports that When the Bride takes a Bride, Businesses Respond. Companies that emphasize their gay-friendly policies include Southwest Airlines, Dell, Wal-Mart and JC Penney. But the One Million Moms aren't happy about this.
[Optional-Video] Apple's 1984 is one of the most famous ads of all time. A Barack Obama supporter put a new spin on it in 2007. Lyndon Johnson used an adorable little kid to warn what might happen if you voted for his opponent. (Here is more on how LBJ's Mad Men revolutionized political advertising.) Hillary Clinton got back in the 2008 race because at 3 a.m. she's ready to take that call. Meanwhile will.i.am put Barack Obama's words to music. In 2012, Lena Dunham sparked controversy when she told young adults who their first time should be with (first time voting, that is). Dove stressed soft skin in 1986 while in 2006 it showed its true colors. Today Dove says You're more beautiful than you think. In what former Senator Alan Simpson says is the most disgusting ad he has ever seen, the AARP warns what will happen to any politician who tries to cut social security. Time reviews The 25 Most Influential Super Bowl Ads of All Time.
[Optional-Video] In this humorous, profane, but also accurate clip, Last Week Tonight with John Oliver discusses Predatory Lending. Warning: Language is quite crude at times. The Center for Responsible Lending has more conventional but also very good videos. In South Dakota an odd couple teamed up to fight payday lending.
Marriage, Divorce, Families & Households
Historian Stephanie Coontz says Marriage isn't dead but it is changing. Coontz further explains why Romance Wrecked Family Stability. The Pew Research Center says it is no longer a Leave it to Beaver world - but it wasn't back then either.
In 2010's I don't, Jessica Bennett and Jesse Ellison made the case against marriage. The conservative group United Families International responded with the case against the case against marriage.
A recent study finds that cohabitation has become the "new normal" and most women cohabit before they are 30. A 2014 study says cohabitation doesn't cause divorce and probably never did. But a 2017 international study claims cohabition harms children.
UT-Austin Sociologist Mark Regnerus claims that cheap sex is making men give up on marriage.
Maryland Sociologist Philip Cohen looks at Trends in Divorce -- and warns that we don't want the rate to be too low. In a 2014 study, Sociologist Jennifer Glass explains the puzzling paradox of why divorce is more common in religiously conservative "red" states. Anneli Rufus outlines 15 ways to predict divorce.
Should you Stay Together for the Kids? Judith Wallerstein says yes - but Katha Pollitt says Divorce is getting a Bum Rap.
He is one of the most famous Republican lawyers in the country. He represented George Bush in Bush vs Gore 2000 and then served as Bush's Solicitor General. His wife died in 9/11. And today, Theodore Olson makes the conservative case for gay marriage. Former presidential candidate Rich Santorum makes his case against gay marriage. Long time lesbian partners Martha Ackelsberg and Judith Plaskow explain why we're not getting married. Same sex marriage may have been a great victory for mainstream gays, but Colin Walmsley worries about the queers left behind.
[Optional] Is a single woman over age 40 more likely to get killed by a terrorist than she is to get married? We used to think so, but in Marriage by the Numbers Newsweek admits that the states of unions aren't what we predicted they'd be.
[Optional] Historian Stephanie Coontz upends conventional wisdom in Three Marriage Rules that Don't Apply and The Triumph of the Working Mother. She also says the most radical changes to marriage happened decades ago.
[Optional] Some of the statistics on infidelity cited above by Bennett and Ellison may be a little dubious. Rebecca Lake tries to get the numbers right in 23 eye-opening truths about infidelity.
[Optional] Karen Prior from Liberty University makes the case for getting married young. Kate Dailey explains why she is saying I do. In 2010 Jessica Bennett helped make the case against marriage; but in 2012 she had second thoughts and wondered if she was Missing the Boat. Taylor Tepper knows there is a downside to having kids but he thinks millennials ought to have them anyway. The no's may be gaining ground though, as a 2012 Pew study predicts that a quarter of millennials will never get married.
[Optional] Richard Banks explains why black women have the lowest marriage rates and offers his ideas on what they should do about it. Nika C. Beamon notes that many single successful black women are rising above the wedding ring.
[Optional] Oh no! It's a girl! Steven Landsburg asks Do Daughters cause Divorce?
[Optional] A lot of people think that cohabitation before marriage helps you make sure you have the right partner - but Cohabitors' Divorce Rates May Suggest Otherwise. But the Alternatives to Marriage Project argues that cohabitation isn't such a bad idea. Meg Jay discusses the downside of cohabiting before marriage. W. Bradford Wilcox and Laurie DeRose elaborate on Childrearing in the age of cohabitation.
[Optional] The National Center for Health Statistics outlines the factors related to the likelihood of remarriage.
[Optional] UT-Austin Sociologist Mark Regnerus challenges the claim that gay families are just as good for children as same-sex ones. But the American Sociological Association (and numerous others) criticized his work and filed a court brief reviewing the evidence on gay marriage. Here is the complete ASA brief on Gay Marriage. Stephanie Pappas reviews the empirical evidence and argues that gay parents may be the best parents. The world's largest study on the children of same-sex parents says they are doing as well or better than the rest of the population on key health indicators. John Harwood says that the vast majority of US corporations have already voted yes on gay marriage. Nate Silver notes that change doesn't usually come this fast.
[Optional] In 2011 Barbara Bush (George's daughter) joined the ranks of Republican offspring who support gay marriage (here is her 22 second video) and Iowa college student Zach Wahls (3 minute video) made an impassioned appeal on behalf of his lesbian parents. In this short video clip, The Golden Girls made the case for gay marriage more than 20 years ago. Notre Dame alum Greg Bourke was named one of National Catholic Reporter's 2015 Persons of the Year for his efforts to legalize gay marriage. Memories Pizza in Walkerton Indiana created a firestorm of controversy when it said it would not cater a gay wedding (something it had never been asked to do anyway) - and received $840,000 in donations as a result. In this 4 minute video, Ted Cruz speaks out in defense of religious liberty.
[Optional] The Heritage Foundation makes its case against gay marriage. Gay activist Katherine Franke warns that same-sex marriage is a mixed blessing. June Thomas says I'm a lesbian and I'm never getting married. Why are you?
[Optional] Should the children of gays be allowed in Catholic Schools? The Archdiocese of Denver doesn't think so. Bill O'Reilly and Father Jonathan Morris debate the issue.
[Optional-Video] Beyonce offers advice on marriage. Jill and Kevin dance at their wedding. But Dolly Parton warns that marriage doesn't always work out.
Health, Disease, & Mortality
Lundquist chapter 5 (Mortality) will also be very helpful for understand the measurement of mortality, historical trends in mortality, and differentials in mortality. For Lundquist chapter 6 (Morbity and Health) probably the most useful section is pp. 205-211, which focuses on risk factors; the rest of the chapter is interesting but the following readings do a better job of highlighting what we will focus on..
Laura Helmuth asks the provocative question, Why are you not dead yet? George Johnson explains why everyone seems to have cancer. Markham Heid explains why Women Live Longer than Men.
In this classic 1993 JAMA article, McGinnis and Foege discuss The real causes of death in the United States. The statistics are dated but the general principles still hold.
A national study finds that guns send 8,000 children to the emergency room every year. Doctors responded when the NRA told them to stay in their lane. But an NRA critic was surprised to find that gun control is not the answer.
U.S. life expectancy improved for almost a century -- but now there is a dismal trend in the other direction. Princeton economists Anne Case and Angus Deaton say it is because Despair has killed a million Americans -- and the white working class (especially Trump supporters) has been hit the hardest.
We are used to hearing about malnutrition as a problem - but recent studies warn that increasing numbers of obese people worldwide could lead to a "global tsunami of cardiovascular disease." But Paul Campos claims the evidence shows we have an absurd fear of fat. However, others disagree.
Psychology Today explains why today's youth are so anxious (I sort of hate the pop culture approach of the article, but I figured I'd see if you think it is right). Princeton struggled with the question Should Suicidal Students Be Forced to Leave Campus?
Vaccines have been a subject of hot debate in recent years. An unvaccinated child contracted tetanus and required $800,000 worth of medical care -- and his parents still would not vaccinate him. The anti-vaxx movement is growing, but a massive new study once again refutes the claims that vaccinations cause autism. A simple graphic shows how Vaccines have changed the world. Steven L. Weinreb pleads For the Herd's Sake, Vaccinate. Blogger KATETIEJTE describes the worst things people say about unvaccinated kids while L. Shaka counters with The worst misconceptions parents of some unvaccinated children hold. Thea Tympanick explains why your kids need the HPV vaccine - and why so many aren't getting it.
[Optional] The Center for Disease Control provides a 2015 overview of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the US. The United Nations gives a 2016 Fact Sheet on AIDS.
[Optional] A JAMA study finds that life expectancy varies by as much as 20 years across counties in the United States. A 2016 report finds that the Disparity in Life Spans of the Rich and the Poor Is Growing. FiveThirtyEight says More Americans Are Dying From Suicide, Drug Use And Diarrhea.
[Optional] Sabrina Tavernise reports that younger Americans die earlier and live in poorer health than their counterparts in other developed countries. Sarah Richards outlines how colleges are struggling with ways to treat suicidal students. The New York Times provides an in-depth analysis of Why More American Teenagers Than Ever are Suffering From Severe Anxiety.
[Optional] Angus Deaton and The Atlantic provide more details on the Deaths of Despair. But two Colorado researchers disagree with the analysis.
[Optional] You can play Laura Helmuth's Wretched Fate game if you'd like to see how you might have died a few centuries ago.
[Optional] Sheila King outlines the hazards of smoking for women. William Wan laments that the rich stopped smoking but the poor didn't. But luckily Fewer US Adults are Smoking than Ever Before. Gabrielle Glaser warns that more people are consuming alcohol in risky ways, and that's not a good trend.
[Optional] Africa faces an unexpected epidemic: obesity. A March 2018 report says American adults just keep getting fatter and fatter. Mexico faces soaring obesity too. This aticle explores Why Obesity is getting worse. In a rather depressing piece, Time Magazine explains Why Exercise Won't Make You Thin. An economist offers his theory as to why we are fat.
[Optional] In the Culture of Corpulence, Claudia Kalb argues that American innovations in food, transportation, and technology are threatening to supersize us all. David Zinczenko says don't blame the eater - blame the fast food companies that are marketing a product with proven health hazards and no warning labels. Sam Ali argues that the food industry profits while society pays and that the food industry is following big tobacco's playbook.
[Optional] ZOE CARPENTER says Racism is killing America's black infants. Several studies suggest that the quality of health care you receive likely depends on your skin color. Juan Williams points out that homicide is the #1 killer of young black men.
[Optional] Breast cancer is one of the leading killers of women worldwide. The New York Times elaborates on how Susan G. Komen for the Cure became a fundraising superpower and on the criticisms and praise it has received. Cancer survivors Barbara Ehrenreich and Peggy Orenstein are among those who criticize the way the battle against breast cancer is being waged.
[Optional] Americans are going bankrupt from getting sick. The New York Times says that prices, not the amount of care, explain Why the U.S. Spends So Much More Than Other Nations on Health Care. Recent studies show that hospital billing varies wildly in the US. Professor Gilbert Welch thinks we should be outraged about the cost. Incredibly high bills for child birth, asthma, and colonoscopies are among the reasons the United States leads the world in health care costs. Just revealing the prices for health care can help. But Paul Krugman expresses optimism over health care costs because of the Medicare Miracle.
[Optional] Paul Krugman blasts Republican health care proposals. Congressman Ron Kind says the GOP bill failed because the Democrats had already taken all of the best Republican ideas. President Trump claims that Obamacare will explode. Politifact assesses Paul Ryan's claim that Obamacare is in a death spiral. As for the claim that that preventive care saves money, Anne Carroll says sorry, it is too good to be true -- but worth doing anyway. Sociologist Paul Starr critiques the Affordable Care Act and outlines A new strategy for health care.
[Optional] The health care industry is changing as more physicians are saying no to endless work days.
[Optional] The U.S. is on the verge of a major nursing shortage. There is a sense of alarm as Rural Hospitals keep closing.
[Optional] Anti-vaxxers are facing a backlash as measles cases surge. Saad B. Omer grew up in a dictatorship -- and he says that Rand Paul is wrong, mandatory immunizations are not a threat to liberty. Here is more on the massive Danish study that found no link between vaccines and autism.
[Optional] A professor of pediatrics says the science behind vaccination is not up for debate. Sharon Begley discusses how vaccines (unfairly) became villains in the autism debate. A British investigation says the Wakefield Autism Study was an elaborate fraud that continues to damage public health. A pediatrician claims to debunk the most common misconceptions about childhood immunizations. Counter to the fears of some, the HPV vaccine does not seem to affect sexual behavior; further it is lowering teenage infection rates,
[Optional] Food, shelter and clean water are what aid agencies emphasize. But if we really want to battle some of the biggest killers of children worldwide, Rose George says we have to get over our squeamishness and send in the latrines.
[Optional] He may not have been the most popular president in the United States - but in Africa, George Bush is praised for helping to save millions. Nicholas Kristof adds that America can be proud of Bush's efforts to battle sex trafficking and HIV.
Aging: The Elderly in America
Lundquist, pp. 118-131, has a good discussion of the problems of older populations.
The Population Reference Bureau gives a 2016 fact sheet on aging in the United States. The Census Bureau offers lots of statistics pertaining to the elderly in honor of Older Americans Month May 2017.
More and more women are on the daughter track, raising their own kids and helping their aging parents. Heidi Goodman discusses how to cope with stress when you're in the sandwich generation.
In this classic 1984 paper, Samuel Preston explains how and why American society has shifted support away from children and toward the elderly. Thirty-four years after Preston wrote his paper, Robert Samuelson makes remarkably similar arguments and says Teachers are competing with the elderly. But the elderly of the future may not fare as well, as Forbes warns that retirement is in peril for most working class Americans.
[Optional] The Today Show offers advice on how to take care of the caregivers. Melissa Segrest further explores the plight of the caregivers in the sandwich generation.
[Optional] The harder to read Census Bureau May 2018 fact sheet is also available if you want it. Here is the complete February 2011 report from the Population Reference Bureau on Aging in America. The Federal Interagency Forum on Aging provides a demographic profile of the elderly. Here is the complete 174 page report from The Federal Interagency Forum on Aging on Older Americans 2010.
[Optional] Ashton Applewhite says Old People should not be the political enemies of the young.
[Optional] Preston's arguments get updated in Generation Excluded and meet the greedy grandparents. But in this detailed report, The Washington Post warns that many of the elderly have alarmingly fragile finances.
Aging: Social Security & Retirement [Optional]
[Optional] The Wall Street Journal says that without Social Security, a majority of US Seniors would be poor.
[Optional] In January 2011, Fox News argued that the Baby Boomers Could Force Economic Catastrophe. Moveon.Org counters by attacking what it calls the Top 5 Myths about Social Security. Paul Krugman says the Geezers (and Social Security and Medicare) are all right.
[Optional] A report from the Population Reference Bureau warns that the the health and financial security of the elderly worldwide is being threatened.
[Optional] The Associated Press says Baby Boomers are approaching age 65 with their retirements in jeopardy.The Wall Street Journal explains why Boomer Retirement Plans are coming up short. The New York Times offers ideas on How to Make the Most Out of Less. After the financial meltdown, what is the new retirement plan? Keep working, John Schoen says.
[Optional] When he visited Notre Dame, in 2005, President George Bush made an unsuccessful plea for the privatization of Social Security. Bush claimed that Social Security was unfair to African Americans - but Paul Krugman accused him of telling little black lies and also argued that privatization is a fake solution to a fake crisis. But George Will said that Social Security reform represents an opportunity, not a crisis.
[Optional] Barry Schwartz opposes the privatization of Social Security in Choose and Lose. George Will extends his arguments for Social Security reform in tell that to your children. Elliot Spitzer, on the other hand, wants to know if we can finally kill the terrible idea of privatization?
Aging: The Future of Aging [Optional]
[Optional] The Population Reference Bureaus reviews the research highlights on the future of life expectancy and asks Have We Reached the Ceiling or is the Sky the Limit? Time says we can live to be 100 but also warns that we should be careful what we wish for. Robert Bazell warns we may live better, but not much longer. Charlene Laino elaborates on the pessimistic case and notes that life span forecasts are often exaggerated.
[Optional] John Schumann explains why immortality is overrated.
Poverty & Wealth
This 6 minute video graphically depicts Wealth Inequality in America. Elizabeth Warren argues that nobody got rich on their own in her famous one-minute You didn't build that speech. In this hour-long YouTube video, then-Harvard Professor Elizabeth Warren discussed The Coming Collapse of the Middle Class. I plan to show these in class but watch them on your own if I don't.
The World Hunger Education Service overviews Poverty and Hunger in the United States. Sociologist Mark Rank offers his explanation of why one of the wealthiest nations on Earth also has the highest rates of poverty in the developed world in Rethinking American Inequality.
Business Week discusses the role that luck plays in making someone rich or poor. German Lopez challenges 11 myths about homelessness in America.
Barbara Ehrenreich explains why it is expensive to be poor. She speaks from experience - she tried working for several months as a poor person and wrote about it in Nickel and Dimed. (A little long, but very interesting and informative and you don't have to read it super carefully.)
[Optional] Catholic Charities of Fort Worth praised Paul Ryan for his understanding of poverty. In 2014 the future Speaker of the House blasted the Obama administration for a system that perpetuates poverty. In 2016 the Republican Party proposed what it thought was a better way to deal with Poverty, Opportunity, and Upward Mobility. In investing in our children, Robert Samuelson argues that government programs can only do so much to combat poverty.
[Optional] Nobel Prize winning economist Joseph Stiglitz claims we have a government Of the 1%, by the 1%, and for the 1% - and he thinks even the wealthy will come to regret that. Robert Reich warns that those at the top would be better off with a smaller share of a rapidly growing economy than a large share of one that's almost dead in the water. The International Monetary Fund claims that worldwide widening income inequality is bad for economic growth.
[Optional] Elizabeth Warren outlines why middle-class families go bankrupt. Deborah Thorne explains why many find it hard to make a fresh start after bankruptcy. Thorne further discusses how financial distress affects families, especially women.
[Optional] Mark Rank's ConfrontingPoverty.org site offers several tools for understanding American inequality.
[Optional] Mitt Romney talked about the 47% but Amia Srinivasan argues that the rich are dependents of the state too. Joseph Stiglitz claims that our tax system is stacked against the 99% and that Equal opportunity is a national myth. Incomes were flat during the great recovery but not for the 1%. Elizabeth Warren says the Obama administration protected Wall Street, not working people. In this 2014 expose, Rolling Stone claims that JP Morgan Chase paid billions of dollars in fines and still got off easy for misdeeds that contributed to the financial crisis.
[Optional] In Working the System that is working her, Jennifer Friedman and Laurel Graham describe how one woman dealt with poverty and all the obstacles it presented her with. (Fascinating albeit long; you don't have to read it super-carefully.)
Race: The Relevance of Race
Darren Curnoe claims that classifying people by race is the biggest mistake in the history of science. In three is not enough, scientists debate whether or not race is a useful concept. In this 3 minute video, Vox debunks the myth of race.
Some polticians stress the magnitude of black-on-black crime. But Matthew Yglesias turns the tables and says White-on-white murder in America is out of control.
[Optional] The entire April 2018 issue of National Geographic is devoted to an exploration of race -- including a critique of the magazine's own racist past.
[Optional] In one drop of bloody history, Ellis Cose notes that Americans have always defined themselves in terms of race.
[Optional] An African American mother tells her biracial children Don't be black on my account. But Lauren Williams explains why she thinks biracial means black.
[Optional] For the first time ever, minority babies became the majority in 2010.
[Optional] In I'm just who I am, Jack White argues that the way Americans think and talk about race will have to catch up with the new reality.
[Optional] Harvard Professor David Reich argues that we shouldn't totally ignore genetic differences between races. But Kwame Anthony Appiah says race and nationality are social inventions being used to cause deadly divisions. Vox outlines 11 ways race isn't real. Nicholas Kristof further explores the question Is race real?
[Optional] The NY Times offers the latest statistics on interracial marriage.
[Optional] The New York Times details the path by which the descendant of a white slavemaster became First Lady of the United States.
[Optional] Some claim that Barack Obama isn't the first black President - either because there were other black Presidents before him or because he isn't really black.
[Optional] Slate examines when and how the word Negro became taboo.
[Optional] The Census Bureau offers several facts and figures that are relevant for African American History Month 2018 and Hispanic Heritage Month 2017. For information on other minority groups, see the Census Bureau Facts for Features web page. For more on Hispanics, see the Census Bureau Report on The Hispanic Population 2010.
[Optional] Linda Villarosa examines Why America�s Black Mothers and Babies Are in a Life-or-Death Crisis. A new study by the Census Bureau and top academics explores intergenerational income disparities by race, and finds that black children fare far less well than their white counterparts.
[Optional] Alice Goffman talks about how we are priming some kids for college - and others for prison.
Race: Housing & Segregation
In a fascinating case study, Kevin Fox Gotham shows how segregation was developed and reinforced in Kansas City in Building the Troost Wall.
[Optional] Joe Feagin explores the causes and consequences of excluding blacks and others from housing.
[Optional] Henry Grabar shows How the Federal Government Made the Maps That Crippled Black Neighborhoods.
[Optional] In 2009's One Stroke of the Pen Richard Williams briefly outlined the 47 year struggle to end racial discrimination in housing.
[Optional] It used to be that minorities were denied mortgage loans. Now they get them, but often with unfavorable or even predatory terms. Richard Williams and colleagues discuss these shifts in The Changing Face of Inequality in Home Mortgage Lending. Bond and Williams further discuss the implications of these changes in Residential Segregation and the Transformation of Home Mortgage Lending. If you don't want to bother reading those rather lengthy articles but still want some idea what your instructor does in his spare time, the Washington Post summarizes a few of the highlights in Subprime Mortgages and Race: A Bit of Good News May Be Illusory.
Race: Diversity & Affirmative Action
[Optional] In 2012 the Supreme Court was flooded with briefs defending race-conscious college admissions. Roger Clegg criticized the Obama administration's support for racial preferences.
[Optional] Several major firms support affirmative action. Ruth Zeilberger discusses why in How the Future of Affirmative Action Affects Corporate America.
[Optional] Adam Clymer explains why the service academies defend the use of race in their admissions policies.
Migration
NOTE: We may or may not get to go over this in class. But, there will be at least an optional question on migration on the exam.
Lundquist's chapter 4, "Migration," has a very good review of the history of migration and the reasons for it.
Michael Powell provides historical perspective in U.S. Immigration Debate Is a Road Well Traveled. In undocumented, indispensable, Anna Quindlen argues that we are all immigrants. Some of us just got here sooner than others.
Notre Dame economist William Evans maintains that the Economic benefits of admitting refugees outweigh the costs. Ben Casselman argues that Immigrants Are Keeping America Young � And The Economy Growing.
Robert Samuelson says we should build Trump's wall. In this 6 minute video, Charles Krauthammer explains why he agrees. But Robert Reich and Doug Massey explain why they think the wall is a terrible idea.
A Notre Dame student claims that the statistics on dreamers are a nightmare. Other Notre Dame students respond. I don't like to be too blatant in expressing my own views - you are always free to disagree with me - but Richard Williams also argued that the statistics on dreamers are only a nightmare if you don't read them right.
[Optional] Even before Trump, Michael Dear and Doug Massey were arguing that the walls we already had were a bad idea.
[Optional] The Marshall Project, Politifact, and The Washington Post all examine the claim that immigrants bring more crime.
[Optional] Michael Clemens examines the claim that immigrants hurt American workers. David Brooks argues that the evidence for allowing more immigration is overwhelming.
[Optional] Zachary Karabell and Jennifer Rubin do not like Trump's wall, but for the sake of DACA they think Democrats should go along with it anyway.
[Optional] Eric Posner says we have a de facto guest worker system, and it works well.
[Optional] In 2010 Philip Martin and Elizabeth Midgley provided a detailed analysis of the status of immigration in America and the controversies surrounding it.
[Optional] There is an ongoing debate about whether or not English should be declared the official language of the United States.
[Optional] MSNBC reports on how Ireland is being transformed by migrants. Here is a video on the topic.
[Optional] NPR and several of the opinion pieces it links to discuss The Debate Over 'Anchor Babies' And Citizenship
Urbanization
[Optional] Lundquist's chapter 10 has a very good discussion of urbanizion.
[Optional] Martin Brockerhoff outlines the challenges faced by An Urbanizing World.
[Optional] Kingsley Davis provides a historical view on The Urbanization of the Human Population.
[Optional] Martin Brockerhoff describes the problems of megacities in The Urban Demographic Revolution.
The Future
Doug Massey offers a bleak vision of the future in The Age of Extremes. This powerpoint presentation captures some of the highlights of his argument.
Bjorn Lomborg reassures us that the world is a lot better place than it used to be. Vox provides 23 charts and maps that show the world is getting much, much better. Former Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels says things really aren't that bad even though we like to think they are.
[Optional] Columnist David Brooks takes a look at America's future and says Relax, We'll be Fine. Former presidential advisor David Gergen says Cheer Up, America -- we've already climbed several mountains and we have strength for the tough journey ahead. Steven Johnson says We are living the dream - we just don't know it.