Approved Courses 2012-13

Department of Anthropology

Anthropology 755  

Last offered spring 2004 (P. Leslie)

HUMAN REPRODUCTION: BIOCULTURAL AND ECOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES (3)

The course examines human reproduction from the perspective of human ecology. The premise is that human fertility, reproductive biology, reproductive behavior, and ultimately fertility and population replacement, are best understood in the context of the interactions of humans with their environment. Since a major component of the human environment is other humans, biocultural models are used to structure the relationships between various components of human reproduction examined in the course. Emphasis is on the proximate determinants of fertility, but always with an eye toward linking these to environmental, socioeconomic, and cultural factors. To this end, a central theme of the course will be the use of life history theory to generate hypotheses concerning reproductive ecology and reproductive decision making. Topics will include: population, resources, and environment; influence of nutrition, disease, activity patterns on reproductive function; reproductive "strategies"; parental investment and value of children; risk and uncertainty in family building.

Anthropology 897.037  

Offered Spring 2013 (P. Leslie)

ENVIRONMENT AND POPULATION: The ecology of risk, uncertainty, and demographic behavior (3)

Concern over the relationship between population and environment abounds. But the most salient research and discussion has focused on one aspect of the relationship --human impact on the environment. In this seminar, we will be concerned primarily, though not exclusively, with the other side of the relationship - how environmental characteristics (especially the physical and biotic environments, but also the social/economic/political environment as it interacts with the above) affect population characteristics and dynamics. These two "directional arrows" are of course ultimately inseparable; the distinction here is one of emphasis. We will be concerned not only with how environmental characteristics affect human populations, but also with how responses to those environmental characteristics - mitigation or coping - in turn affect the environment. That is, we will whenever possible take a systems view. A special emphasis will be on the biological and behavioral consequences of environmental fluctuations and unpredictability.
(approved December 2005)

 

Anthropology 898 

Last offered spring 2005 (P. Leslie)

FIELD METHODS IN HUMAN ECOLOGY (3)

This is a graduate methods training course in interdisciplinary approaches to examining population and environment issues. The course focuses on field methods commonly encountered in human ecology research, integrating social and natural science approaches, quantitative and qualitative data collection, as well as emic and etic perspectives. It is designed for students interested in examining the links between human populations and the natural environment, as well as students looking to include social perspectives in more interdisciplinary approaches to conservation and environmental management. Research about population and environment issues often entail interactions between researchers and local residents, families, and/or entire communities, and this requires training in appropriate and effective methods as well as preparation in handling the inevitable ethical and logistical issues that arise.
(approved December 2004)

Department of Biostatistics

Biostatistics 670 

Last offered fall 2012 (R. Bilsborrow and C. Suchindran)

DEMOGRAPHIC TECHNIQUES I (3)

Prerequisite, Biostatistics 101 or equivalent. Source and interpretation of demographic data; rates and ratios, standardization, complete and abridged life tables; estimation and projection of fertility, mortality, migration, and population composition.

Biostatistics 771 

Last offered spring 2009 (C. Suchindran)

DEMOGRAPHIC TECHNIQUES II (3)

Prerequisites, Biostatistics 170 and integral calculus. Life table techniques; methods of analysis when data are deficient; population projection methods; interrelations among demographic variables; migration analysis; uses of population models.

Department of Economics

Economics 850

Last offered fall 2012 (D. Gilleskie)

HEALTH ECONOMICS (3)

Econ 880 is the first course in the labor economics sequence. We will cover the basics of labor supply, labor demand, human capital, and wages. The course has three main objectives. The first is to develop a critical understanding of the literature in these areas and to identify major issues for future research. The second is to become comfortable with a variety of empirical tools commonly used in the labor field and to use these tools in students’ research projects. The third is to gain background knowledge of important stylized facts about labor markets.
(approved December 2011) 

Economics 880 

Last offered fall 2012 (K. Peter)

LABOR ECONOMICS I (3)

Prerequisite, Economics 200 or permission of the instructor. An analysis of the short- and long-run aspects of supply and demand of labor, including empirical analysis of the labor force behavior of males, females, blacks, and whites. Topics include the microeconomic effects of marriage, fertility, and mobility on labor supply, as well as the macroeconomic effects of unemployment on inflation.
(approved December 2003)

Economics 881 

Offered spring 2013 (C. Joubert)

LABOR ECONOMICS II (3)

Life cycle analysis of supply and demand for labor as a determinant of individual wages. Topics include an analysis of discrimination, union power, and governmental manpower policies on the distribution of earnings across the population.
(approved December 2003)

Department of Epidemiology

          Last offered fall 2009 (A. Olshan and N. Dole)

INTEGRATING BIOMARKERS IN POPULATION-BASED RESEARCH (2)

The course will introduce students interested in population research to the collection and analysis of biospecimens and their incorporation into epidemiologic, biomedical, and social science frameworks. Topics include concepts of study design and interdisciplinary research, sample collection, processing, and storage, working with laboratories, quality assurance and quality control, specimen management, ethical issues, assessing costs, and statistical methods. The course will provide a general introduction and discussion of topics with examples drawn from case studies.
(approved December 2007)

Epidemiology 690.008 (Epidemiology 827 beginning spring 2014)

Last offered spring 2012 (W. Robinson)

SOCIAL EPIDEMIOLOGY: ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION (3)

This course examines analytic methods for improving causal inference when investigating social determinants of health.  Topics include causal inference, challenges to investigating the roles of social factors and neighborhoods in health research, and various methods relevant to social epidemiological research.
(approved December 2011)

Epidemiology 743

Offered spring 2013 (K. North)

GENETIC EPIDEMIOLOGY (3)

This course examines the methods and concepts of genetic epidemiology that are relevant to the study of complex diseases in human populations. The population focus of the course derives from the integration of biological linkages with health and developmental trajectories. Students will be introduced to tools and methods for evaluating genetic pathways and potential gene-environment interactions, such as social determinants and risk factors. Understanding the genetic etiologies of health and behavior is a crucial component in the dynamic system of complex human population and environmental interactions. This course adds important technical knowledge for evaluating and interpreting genetic data which has dramatically increased with technological advances and collaborative global consortium efforts.
(approved December 2011)

Epidemiology 757

Last offered fall 2012 (S. Weir and F. Behets)

EPIDEMIOLOGY AND SOCIAL ASPECTS OF HIV/AIDS IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES (3)

This course is designed to provide an overview of key issues in HIV/AIDS epidemiology to students interested in studying the proximate determinants of the HIV epidemic in developing countries. In addition to getting expert lectures on biological factors of HIV important for understanding the course of an epidemic in a country, students are exposed to topics such as: the methods used by UNAIDS to estimate HIV prevalence in a country and sources of bias in these estimates; the methods used to monitor the proximate determinants of the HIV epidemic in a country including the use of DHS data; and ethical issues raised in decision making about the allocation of prevention and treatment funding.
(approved December 2007)

Epidemiology 826 (offered in spring 2013 as EPID 600.003)

Offered spring 2013 (J. Thomas)

SOCIAL EPIDEMIOLOGY: CONCEPTS AND MEASURES (3)

Social forces affecting community health and how to measure them for epidemiologic analysis. Topics range from social networks to racism and ethics. Three lecture hours per week.
(approved December 2006)

Epidemiology 851 (formerly Epidemiology 219)

Last offered fall 2012 (A. Olshan)

REPRODUCTIVE and PERINATAL EPIDEMIOLOGY (3)

Prerequisites: EPID 160 and BIOS 110 or alternatives. Epidemiology of major reproductive health outcomes, including infertility, fetal loss, birth weight, congenital malformations, and infant mortality. Current knowledge regarding epidemiology of these outcomes. Discussion of methodological issues specific to reproduction.

Department of Geography

Geography 450

Offered in fall 2013 (C. Gray)
Note: Only sections of Geography 450 (Population, Development and the Environment) taught by Professor Gray are approved for the CPC population course list.

POPULATION, DEVELOPMENT AND THE ENVIRONMENT (3)

Historical and recent changes in human populations, international development and the global environment are closely interconnected, though sometimes in surprising ways. These changes have brought the world to a population of 7 billion with both unprecedented prosperity and resilient poverty, whose actions have led to a changing climate and declining biodiversity. However this century is likely to witness a peak in the global human population, declining poverty and net reforestation globally. We will examine these processes through the lens of population geography, a quantitative, people-focused perspective that draws on a variety of types of data, to ask how individual decisions contribute to global outcomes as well as how individuals are affected by global change.
(approved December 2012)

Geography 803  

Last offered fall 2005 (R. Bilsborrow)
Note: Only sections of Geography 803 (HUMAN ENVIRONMENT RESEARCH SEMINAR) taught by Professor Bilsborrow are approved for the CPC population course list.

HUMAN ENVIRONMENT RESEARCH SEMINAR (3)

This new seminar course is in response to the growing interest in development, and population and the environment, especially in developing countries. The course is intended to enhance the understanding of the interrelationships through a critical appraisal of selected literature, provide a forum for developing research ideas, and offer a basis for considering policy implications and research needs.

The course will be interdisciplinary and partly participatory, with student interests determining part of the content through class presentations and research projects. While primarily a seminar, it will include lectures by the instructor and several guest lecturers mainly during the first half of the course. Lectures will cover topics such as economic development and the persistence of poverty and inequality; trends in population dynamics and environmental change in developing countries; theories of population-environment linkages; and empirical evidence in several areas. In reviewing the literature, empirical studies will be critically appraised to evaluate how they could have been done better. In the last half of the course, students will produce a research paper based on a topic of their choosing developed in consultation with the instructor.
(approved November 2004)

Geography 542 

Last offered spring 2010 (M. Emch)

NEIGHBORHOODS AND HEALTH (3)

This course focuses on the theory behind neighborhood determinants of health, which is an important area in population health research. It is a survey course that covers the fundamental theory behind neighborhood effects and the approaches for measuring them. The course involves a review of empirical and theoretical work from several different fields including geography, sociology, and public health.
(approved December 2006)

Geography 803/813 

Last offered spring 2009 (S. Walsh)

SEMINAR IN PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY: Land Use/Land Cover Dynamics and Human-Environment Interactions (3)

Geography 805

Last offered spring 2012 (M. Emch)

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT: HEALTH AND DISEASE SEMINAR (3)

In this class, we examine human health from the human ecology of disease perspective which is concerned with the ways human behavior, in its cultural and socioeconomic contexts, interacts with environmental conditions to produce or prevent disease. We’ll also explore disease distributions from a neighborhoods and health perspective, which is related to disease ecology. Disease ecology views human life as a process, a continual interaction between our internal (biological) and external environments. To understand disease you must study both the person and the place where it exists, and the dynamic and changing relationships between the two. Disruptions in the balance between humans and their environment, via migration, landscape change, climate change, etc. can have either a positive or negative effect on health outcomes. This class will begin with a theoretical grounding in field of disease ecology from a geographic perspective as well as the related area of inquiry, neighborhoods and health. Students will read, discuss, and critique some of the fundamental literature in these areas. Students will then develop and implement an individual project in which they will focus on the ecology of one health outcome of their choice.
(approved December 2011)

Department of Maternal and Child Health

Maternal Health Child Health 716

Offered spring 2013 (S. Bloom and S. Curtis)

INTERNATIONAL FAMILY PLANNING AND REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH (3)

This course will provide an overview of the critical issues in international family planning and reproductive health, including major theoretical frameworks, patterns and trends over time, and family planning and reproductive health policy development. We will trace the evolution of the field from its demographic roots through the current expansion to a broader reproductive health perspective. The main theoretical models to explain the determinants of fertility and reproductive mortality and morbidity will be presented. Demographic data will be used to describe the trends and patterns of family planning and reproductive health within the global context. The development of population, family planning and reproductive health policy through the last three decades, along with the more recent focus on the field within the context of health and human rights, will be discussed.
(approved December 2006)

Maternal and Child Health 722

Offered fall 2013 (K. Singh)

GLOBAL MATERNAL AND CHILD HEALTH (3)

The focus of this population-based course includes emphases on measurement, trends, theory and both the biological and social determinants of maternal and child health. In the course the main causes of maternal and under-five morbidity and mortality in developing countries are presented as well as the interventions, policies and research which address these causes. Students learn how to use conceptual models and theory to understand how biological and social factors interact to influence health outcomes. The main social factors studied are poverty, education, and gender equality.
(approved December 2012)

Maternal and Child Health 862

Offered spring 2013 (G. Angeles)

MCH PROGRAM EVALUATION (3)

The focus of this course is developing the skills for examining data in order to assess whether a program had an impact on demographic or health outcomes or behaviors of a given population group. Even though good part of the course will be spent reviewing evaluation designs and the application of statistical techniques for evaluating programs, this is not a course in statistics, this is a course on program evaluation, therefore, the interest is in understanding what are the main issues involved in correctly answering the question: Does a program have an impact? and, if the answer is yes, by how much? We will review how to design and carry out a program evaluation and developing the criteria for selecting the appropriate analytical procedure for evaluating a program given the characteristics of the outcome under examination, the program, and the data available to the evaluator. Of course, students should know how to apply the chosen analytical procedure. Emphasis is given to the appropriate interpretation of results in the context of evaluating a program. This course examines the challenges for implementing program impact evaluations in developing countries. Most applications are drawn from impact evaluations of population and MCH programs in Africa, Asia and Latin America.
(approved December 2006)

Department of Nutrition

Nutrition 812

Offered spring 2013 (P. Gordon-Larsen)

INTRODUCTION TO OBESITY: FROM CELL TO SOCIETY (3)

Obesity is a major, global public health issue. The escalating prevalence of obesity, its strong relationship with diabetes and other major chronic diseases, and its substantial economic consequences present serious scientific and societal challenges. Obesity is a complex health problem with causes ranging from cellular and molecular to community and societal factors. Addressing obesity requires an intensive interdisciplinary approach across multiple levels of influence.

The course is designed as an introductory course for graduate students in the health, social, and behavioral sciences. This course will provide a broad survey of obesity research, including measurement issues, biological, social and economic etiologies, health and economic consequences, and prevention and treatment of obesity. While NUTR 696-001 is a survey course, we will include a critical assessment of current issues and controversies, beyond what a typical survey course would provide.
(approved December 2008)

Nutrition 745 

Last offered fall 2012 (L. Adair and M. Bentley)

INTERNATIONAL NUTRITION (3)

Provides a broad overview of international nutrition research issues, programs, and policies. Topics will include micronutrient deficiencies, child feeding and growth, determinants of under- and over-nutrition, chronic disease and nutrition, food fortification and supplementation, and nutrition intervention programs and policy.
(approved December 2003)

Public Health Leadership Program

Public Health 510

Last offered fall 2012 (M. Bentley)

INTERDISCIPLINARY PERSPECTIVES in GLOBAL HEALTH(3)

This course provides an overview of key global health issues and their impacts on populations through social, economic, political, and environmental factors. The course examines the major determinants of poverty and health in developing countries through a social justice and human rights lens. It explores the linkages between global and local health issues, problems and solutions, and the distribution of health problems across populations. The course identifies population-level solutions to multifaceted health problems, and studies the inherent complexity in improving health on a global scale.
(approved December 2010)

Department of Public Policy

Public Policy 799

Offered spring 2013 (K. Perreira)

MIGRATION AND HEALTH IN THE U.S. (3)

Approximately 40 million immigrants (14% of the US population) live in the United States and nearly one quarter of all children (ages 0-18) in the US are children of immigrants. Although the majority of immigrants arrive to the US from Latin America, others immigrate from Asia, Africa, and Europe. With a focus on Latin American migration to the US, this course introduces students to the inter-relationships between migration and health. Students will gain an understanding of the theories of migration and the ways in which immigration and settlement policies influence the health and well-being of immigrant populations. Students will have an opportunity to explore and evaluate key health issues affecting migrant populations and critique initiatives to improve the health of immigrant populations in the US.
(approved December 2012)

Public Policy 895  

Last offered spring 2012 (S. Handa)

TOPICS IN POVERTY AND HUMAN RESOURCES (3)

This course covers topics in poverty, welfare and human resources from an economic perspective, and will be of interest to students who want to specialize in social and behavioral approaches to the study of population and demographic phenomena.
(approved November 2004)

Department of Sociology

Sociology 820 

Last offered fall 2012 (L. Pearce)

SEMINAR IN MARRIAGE AND THE FAMILY (3)

This graduate seminar will introduce students to a wide range of studies in the sociology of family, improving their ability to critically analyze work in this field and inspiring students' own family-related research. The course materials draw on a variety of theoretical, historical, cultural and methodological perspectives to examine topics such as union formation and dissolution, family relationships, childbearing, parenthood, and intergenerational exchanges.
(approved December 2003 (Pearce); December 2010 (Cohen))

Sociology 830 

Last offered fall 2012 (A. Perez)

DEMOGRAPHY: THEORY, SUBSTANCE, TECHNIQUES, PART I (3)

This is the first part of a two-course sequence that is designed as a basic graduate-level introduction to demography. This part of the course will cover basic concepts and tools, sources of demographic data, and the study of mortality and fertility. The second semester will cover stable population theory, migration, population distribution, population policy, and estimates and projections. Class-time will be devoted to both lecture and discussion, depending on the nature of the topic. To facilitate the integration of readings and class discussion, I will periodically assign students to lead class discussion on certain articles.

Sociology 831 

Offered spring 2013 (T. Mouw)

DEMOGRAPHY: THEORY, SUBSTANCE, TECHNIQUES, PART II (3)

This course is designed to teach the skills necessary to be an effective social demographer. Half of the class time will be in the computer lab devoted to hands on manipulation of demographic data from a variety of sources. The course will be "problem-based" with time spent working on several cases in depth and developing analytic skills.

Sociology 832 

Offered spring 2013 (J. Hagan)

MIGRATION AND POPULATION DISTRIBUTION (3)

Treats migration trends, patterns, and differentials and their effects on population distribution in continental and regional areas. Attention is given to theoretical and methodological problems in the study of population movement.
(approved December 2005)

Sociology 833 

Offered spring 2013 (P. Morgan)

SOCIOECONOMIC FACTORS IN FERTILITY (3)

Sociology 835 

Last offered fall 2008 (P. Uhlenberg)

MORTALITY: SOCIAL DEMOGRAPHIC PERSPECTIVES (3)

Sociology 950

Offered spring 2013 (K. Harris)

USING ADD HEALTH TO STUDY HEALTH AND DEVELOPMENTAL TRAJECTORIES ACROSS THE LIFE COURSE (3)

This course is designed to integrate the theory and research literature on health and developmental trajectories across the life course from early adolescence into adulthood based on the design and data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health). Within the broad life course framework focusing particularly on the transition to adulthood, this course will facilitate student research using Add Health (and other population-representative longitudinal datasets upon approval). Add Health was designed to study the causes of health and health behavior in adolescence and the transition to adulthood with special emphasis on the effects of the social contexts of young people’s lives. The study was designed by population researchers at the Carolina Population Center at UNC, and has been funded through the Demographic and Behavioral Science Branch of NICHD as three program projects from 1994-2013. The design evolved from theoretical notions of how the social and physical environment influence individual health and health behavior among adolescents and their outcomes in young adulthood. In addition to comprehensive demographic, social, behavioral, and biological data on individuals, independent measurement of contextual data on the family, siblings, the school, friends, the peer network, romantic and sexual partners, the neighborhood, the community, and state laws and policies have been collected for rich multilevel analyses of main and interactive environmental influences on health and health behavior.
(approved December 2012)

Sociology 950

Last offered fall 2011 (G. Guo)

SOCIETY, POPULATION, and GENOMICS (3)

 
The course focuses on how genomics can enrich population studies and other social science studies. In other words, the course examines potential ways in which human genomic and epigenomic information can be incorporated into social science studies at the population level. Topics include an introduction to biometrics (inferring genetic influences using genetically related individuals); an introduction to basic principles of molecular genetics; joint influences of social contexts and genetic heritage to human behaviors; history of human evolution and contemporary race/ethnicity; evolutionary psychology; sex, gender, and genetics; ethical, legal, and social issues in genetic studies; genetic testing; and epigenetics - the potential links between genes and environment. The course will examine the methods that are used for investigating these topics. To make the course accessible to graduate student in populations studies, the course does not have prerequisites, but familiarity with basic genetics or a social science field is helpful.
(approved December 2010)