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This course invites undergraduate students from various study programs to explore contemporary issues in demography through a series of lectures presented by distinguished foreign lecturers or their interviews. The course covers different demographic and related topics, emphasising, for instance, global population trends, migration, fertility, mortality, ageing, public policy implications or methods of research. The module elements have a combined format – in-person and online. The course awards 2 ECTS credits and is graded based on attendance and a final test. Last update: Kučera Tomáš, RNDr., CSc. (01.10.2025)
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· Books:
· Articles and Other Materials: · Select readings recommended by visiting lecturers. · Presentations/video recordings of the “visiting lecturers” Last update: Kučera Tomáš, RNDr., CSc. (01.10.2025)
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Assessment: · Participation: Students are required to participate in at least two of the five recommended lectures and watch three interviews of Pulso Demográfico (mandatory) throughout the course. · Students on NMS Demography (combined form in English) can replace one of the lectures by COST Action CA21150 - Sustainability@Leave - "Core Group Meeting". · Assessment: A test covering the information presented during the two selected lectures and three mandatory interviews will be administered at the end of the course (January-February 2026). Students must achieve a minimum pass rate of 50% to receive credit. Last update: Kučera Tomáš, RNDr., CSc. (01.10.2025)
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Program: · OLS regression models and causal inference. GREATLEAP Online Lecture Series. Lecturer: Auke Rijpma, Research Institute for History and Art History, Utrecht University. Friday, 3 October 2025, 14:00 - 15:00 CEST via Microsoft Teams. Abstract: Historical demographers often rely on survival models to analyze events like mortality and health outcomes. While these are powerful and appropriate tools, the more basic OLS (Ordinary Least Squares) model is a very interesting and often robust alternative, especially when data doesn’t perfectly adhere to the requirements of more complex models. What’s more, there is a well-developed literature on how to perform causal inference with OLS models, allowing researchers to go beyond simple correlation to identify meaningful causal relationships. This lecture will introduce the basic OLS model and then cover a number of key causal inference strategies. We will also demonstrate practical estimation procedures using the powerful fixest package in R, highlighting how these methods can be applied to historical demographic data. Objectives: · Discuss the basics of the OLS model · Introduce important causal inference strategies that can be performed with extensions of the OLS model · Demonstrate OLS estimation in R’s fixest library Recommended reading: Angrist, Joshua D., and Jörn-Steffen Pischke. 2015. Mastering ’metrics: The Path from Cause to Effect. Princeton University Press. Zwart, Pim de, Daniel Gallardo-Albarrán, and Auke Rijpma. 2022. ‘The Demographic Effects of Colonialism: Forced Labor and Mortality in Java, 1834–1879’. The Journal of Economic History 82 (1): 211–49. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0022050721000577.
· Social Mobility of Elites in the Central European Regions (1861–1926) and Transition of Imperial Experience and Structures in Nation-states. Lecturers: Vlad Vasile Popovici and Martin Klečacký (Masaryk Institute and Archives of the Czech Academy of Sciences), Alice Velková (Department of Demography and Geodemography, Faculty of Science, Charles University). Monday, 6 October 2025, 15:00-16:30 CEST, MÚA AV ČR, konferenční sál (B -110), Gabčíkova 2362/10, Praha 8. The seminar can also be viewed online via Microsoft Teams. Abstract: This interdisciplinary project analysed and compared the transformation processes of modern European societies using the example of two regions of the former Habsburg Monarchy: Bohemia and Transylvania. It focused on the question of how social mobility, education, family ties, and other connections among elite social groups contributed to the stabilisation or destabilisation of society as a whole. The research was applied to two selected groups belonging to the so-called decision-making class: members of the provincial assemblies, the Imperial Council in Vienna, and the Hungarian Assembly, as well as senior civil servants. His goal was to use modelling of factors that significantly influenced the inclusion of individuals in elite groups to clarify the process of elite circulation and the transition of imperial experiences and structures to newly formed nation-states.
· Family reconstitution application in event history models. GREATLEAP Online Lecture Series. Lecturer: Péter Őri, Hungarian Demographic Research Institute. Friday, 7 November 2025, 14:00 – 16:00 CEST via Microsoft Teams. Abstract: The lecture provides an overview of infant and child mortality prior to the demographic transition, paying particular attention to differences by sex, age group, parental socioeconomic status, historical period, season, and the impact of different family settings (e.g. parental loss and remarriage, the death of a previously born child, and having siblings). In addition to a theoretical introduction, it presents results from macro-level statistics and individual longitudinal micro-analyses relating to Hungarian communities. Objectives: The lecture provides information on the levels and determinants of pre-modern infant and child mortality, and the historical sources that enable their analysis. It also explores the application of family reconstitution data in event history models. Recommended reading: Edvinsson, S., & Janssens, A. (2012). Clustering of deaths in families: Infant and child mortality in historical perspective. Biodemography and Social Biology, 58(2), 75–86. 6. https://doi.org/10.1080/ 19485565.2012.738575. Oris, M., Derosas, R., & Breschi, M. (2004). Infant and child mortality. In T. Bengtsson, C. Campbell, J. Z. Lee (Eds.), Life under pressure. Mortality and living standards in Europe and Asia, 1700–1900 (pp. 360–398). MIT Press.
· Retrospective modelling (of epidemics). GREATLEAP Online Lecture Series. Lecturer: Katarina Matthes, Institute of Evolutionary Medicine, University of Zurich. Friday, 21 November 2025, 14:00 – 16:00 CEST via Microsoft Teams. Details TBA later.
· Use of life tables in research. GREATLEAP Online Lecture Series. Lecturer: TBA. Friday, 12 December 2025, 14:00 – 16:00 CEST via Microsoft Teams. Details TBA later.
· Pulso Demográfico: Interviews of Alana Armitage, Director of UNFPA Country Office in Mexico and past Director of UNFPA Regional Office for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, on key population topics with international personalities in demography: Pulso Demográfico 01 - Why should we all be talking about demography? with Jose Miguel Guzman, President and Founder at NoBrainerData, Washington, D., former UNFPA Chief Population and Development (in Spanish with English subtitles). Pulso Demográfico 02 - Is humanity on the road to extinction? with Stuart Gietel-Basten, Director of @Ageing Science, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology . Pulso Demográfico 03 - What is the real fertility crisis? Dispelling myths and opening new pathways. with Shalini Randeria, President and Rector of Central European University, Vienna, External Adviser of the UNFPA 2025 State of World Population report Last update: Kučera Tomáš, RNDr., CSc. (01.10.2025)
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Aims: · To expose students to global and historical perspectives on contemporary demographic challenges. · To provide deeper insights into basic research methods. · To encourage critical thinking about the impact of population trends on society and policy. · To foster engagement with international experts in the field of demography. Learning Outcomes: By the end of the course, students will: · Gain a deeper understanding of some current questions in demography from an international perspective. · Develop the essential ability to evaluate demographic data and trends correctly. · Understand the interaction between demographic processes and public policies. · Enhance their ability to engage in professional debates on population challenges. Last update: Kučera Tomáš, RNDr., CSc. (01.10.2025)
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There are no formal prerequisites for this course. However, a basic understanding of demography, geography, sociology, or economics is beneficial. The course is a suitable complement to the elective course "Fundamentals of Demography". Last update: Kučera Tomáš, RNDr., CSc. (01.10.2025)
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