Seminar in demography and development: case studies

Teacher(s)

Chemouni Benjamin; Chemouni Benjamin (compensates Schnor Christine); Schnor Christine;

Language

French

Prerequisites

The prerequisite(s) for this Teaching Unit (Unité d’enseignement – UE) for the programmes/courses that offer this Teaching Unit are specified at the end of this sheet.

Main themes

The topics cavered by this seminar will vary from one year to the other depending on the students and on the research topics of the teachers. Some of the possible topics (geographical context and time period to be defined) include : - South-North inequalities and international migrations - Migrations, urbanization and labour market in cities in developing countries - Demographic ageing and migrations in developed countries - The impact of economic and social development on the demographic transition - HIV/AIDS and its demographic and economic consequences - The impact of economic crises on demographic behaviour - The effects of population growth on economic development - Demography, poverty et social exclusion

Learning outcomes

At the end of this learning unit, the student is able to :
1	- Through case studies, development of the capacity to analyze in an inter-disciplinary way the relationships between demographic processes and social and economic development in both developed and developing countries - Application of theoretical knowledge acquired in courses demography and development to the analysis of case studies - Development of collaborations between students in demography and development

Content

Each year, teachers choose an interdisciplinary theme where science, politics, and ideology mix or confront each other. The theme brings to thinking about the social, economic, demographic and developmental issues of the choices made around a development project.
The objectives of the seminar are:

• to understand the complexity of the proposed issue,
• to show the concrete difficulties of dialogues and negotiations between partners or social groups with divergent interests
• to move from theoretical knowledge to the implementation of a policy
• to make students from different backgrounds talk to each other
• to contribute to the development of teamwork skills

Teaching methods

The seminar takes the form of a role play, after presenting some introductory elements to the selected issue. This "game" ends at the end of the quadrimester with the simulation of a conference where each of the participating actors defends a position at the political and scientific level and negotiates to achieve a more or less consensual policy. To fit into a certain reality and thus facilitate documentation or meetings, the role play revolves around a highly topical development project.

Evaluation methods

Assessment will be based on both individual and collective participation in the different stages of the work (including, of course, the final conference), as well as on the quality of the intermediate and final reports. Evaluation will be carried out by the co-instructors of the seminar.
Attendance at the seminar sessions and at the final conference is mandatory and will account for 15% of the final grade (-3 points per missed session).
The remaining 85% will be distributed as follows:

• 30% for the quality of presentations and interventions of the actor during the role-play exercise.
  
• 15% for the quality of the intermediate written report.
  
• 40% for the quality of the final written report.
  

These 85% will be weighted by the relative involvement score obtained through peer evaluation. We will use a peer self-assessment tool aimed at ensuring greater fairness in individual grades, by weighting group work grades according to actual participation, as evaluated by peers within the same group.
In accordance with Article 72 of the RGGE, any student who has not regularly participated in the learning activities, particularly the drafting of their group’s final report, will not be allowed to register for the August session. The August session will take the form of an oral exam.
The intermediate written report (maximum 4 pages, excluding bibliography) must include the following elements:

• General issue: identify the main economic and geopolitical challenges in which the project is embedded.
  
• Context: describe the context and preliminary features of the project.
  
• Presentation of your actor: this key section (minimum 2 pages) must describe your actor: its identity, structure, size, and functioning. It must also specify its interests in the project’s context. While your actor may be fictional, its characteristics and interests must be as precise and plausible as possible. Remember to use scientific literature to justify the elements of the pre-report.
  

The final written report must include the following elements:

• Revised general issue
  
• Revised context
  
• Revised presentation of the represented actor
  
• Positions and strategies during the role-play
  
• Organization of the group’s work and reflections on the role-play
  
• Conclusion
  
• Bibliography and contacts made
  
• Possible annexes
  

The final written report is a critical scientific paper. You are expected not only to present and justify the positions defended during the role-play, but also to take a critical stance toward your actor and the arguments put forward in the role-play. The presentation of arguments and their critique must be grounded in scientific literature, contacts with resource persons, etc. All sources must be cited; plagiarism will not be tolerated (for further information: https://uclouvain.be/fr/etudier/plagiat).

Other information

Seminar accessible only to students of the Master in population and development

Online resources

Most of the resources are offered by the students themselves, helped by their teachers

Bibliography

Les références dépendent du thème choisi chaque année.
The references depend on the theme chosen each year.

Faculty or entity

> PSAD