The purpose of this course is acquiring basic knowledge about demography as a science, learning about subject of demographic studies and methods used in demographic studies. Particular attention is given to theoretical views on the population, division of demography, as well as the multidisciplinary aspect of demographic studies and connections between demography  and  other sciences, comparative methods of demographic analysis, data sources on the population and the application of relevant statistical indicators and measures in demographic studies.

Training students to overmaster the teaching materials during further study of demography, and also to understand the importance of applying theoretical, methodological and applied knowledge to the study of the population.

Teoretichal lectures

History of the development of demography as a science. The importance of demographic studies and its research phases. Demographic method. Subject of study and types of demographic knowledge in scientific literature. The concept of demographic development. Population as a natural-social, historical and statistical category. Different viewpoints on determining the subject of demography. Division of demography. Old and medieval writers who wrote about the population. First theoretical views on the population. Population theories - Malthus theory. Criticism of Malthus and Neo-Malthusians. Mathematical, biological and sociological theories of population. Theories of population optimum. Theories of demographic transition. Connections between demography and other sciences. Sources of data for population. Units and characteristics of population research. Types and models of the population.

Practical lectures

Significance and elaboration of demographic theories (from Malthus to theory of population optimum), papers (presentations, discussion, comments). Graphic presentation, cohort and transferal analysis on selected examples. Lexis diagram.

Breznik, D. (1977). Demografija, analiza, metodi i modeli. Beograd: Centar za demografska istraživanja - Institut društvenih nauka (appropriate chapters)

Malačič, J. (2000). Demografija – teorija, analiza, metode in modeli. Ljubljana: Univerza v Ljubljani, Ekonomska fakulteta (appropriate chapters)

Macura, M. (1985). Prilozi teoriji i politici stanovništva. Beograd: Ekonomski institut

Wertheimer – Baletić, A. (1999). Stanovništvo i razvoj. Zagreb: Mate (appropriate chapters)