Demography is Destiny How Aging, Racial and Ethnic Diversity, evolving Gender Relations, and Immigration are Changing Everything

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Demography is Destiny How Aging, Racial and
Ethnic Diversity, evolving Gender Relations, and
Immigration are Changing Everything

• Open Classroom
• January-April 2011
• Prof. Barry Bluestone
• Prof. John Sarvey

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Sociological Issues

• The reshaping of the American Family
• Impact of demographic change on the nature of
  urban neighborhoods
• Generational Differences in Culture (e.g. Baby
  boomers vs. Gen X vs. Millennials)
• The impact of demography on Urban Space
• The impact of demographic change on visual space
• The impact of demographic change in public
  schools

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Economic Issues

• Whos Going to do the Work? Implications of an
  aging workforce on future employment levels and
  unemployment
• Role of older workers/encore careers in the
  workforce
• Impact of immigration on employment opportunity
• Need to retain and attract young workers to fill
  jobs and pay taxes (Third Civil War)
• Impact of aging on Social Security and health
  care finance
• Impact of aging on public sector pension programs
• Changing racial and ethnic composition and impact
  on jobs and the economy

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Political Issues

• Impact of aging on elections
• Impact of changing racial, ethnic, and gender
  composition on elections
• Impact of changing racial, ethnic, and gender
  composition of elected officials

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Demographic Change and Culture

• Impact of demographic change on
• Language
• Music
• Films
• Theater
• Art
• Literature
• Television
• Internet
• Facebook/Tweeter

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International Affairs

• The role of demographics in explaining economic
  growth and political power in developed and
  developing countries
• Zero Population Growth (ZPG)/ Club of Rome
• Too much population growth?
• Too little population growth?

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Week 1 January 13 Demographic Change From the
Family to the World Barry Bluestone John Sarvey

• Family
• Community/Neighborhood
• Workplace
• School
• City
• State
• Nation
• World

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Week 2 January 19Whats Happening to the
American Family? Kathryn Edin (Harvard) Kenneth
Johnson (UNH)

• Changing role of men and women
• Changing family structure
• Changing Face of Americas Children and Impact on
  the Economy and Politics
• How the concept of Home and Hearth may be
  changing
• Generational Change

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Week 3 January 26Prismatic Communities Richard
Chacon (MA Office of Refugees Immigrants) Mary
Waters (Harvard)

• The New Demographics of our Immigrant Population
• Immigration Intergroup Relations

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Week 4 February 2The Changing American
Workplace Part IOsborne Jackson (NU) Robert
Triest (Boston Fed)

• Changing Role of Women in the workplace
• Changing Role of Minorities in the workplace
• The Impact of Demographic Change on U.S. Labor
  Markets
• Impact of Immigration on job opportunity
• Changing culture due to generational shifts

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Week 5 February 9The Changing American
Workplace Part IIJoe Quinn (Boston College)
Phyllis Segal (Civic Ventures)

• Impact of demographic change on employment and
  unemployment
• Impact of demographic change on Social Security
  and Retirement
• Role of Older Workers Encore Careers
• Role of Younger Workers

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Week 6 February 16Demographic Change and our
Public SchoolsJohn Logan (Brown University)

• Changing racial/ethnic composition of urban and
  suburban schools
• Geography of Educational Inequality

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Week 8 February 23Visualizing the Evolving
American CityJohanna Londono (NU) Peter
Vandervarker (Photographer)

• Demographics and the Changing visual appearance
  of the cities and suburbs

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March 2 Spring Break
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Week 7 March 9A Future for Older Industrial
Cities? Dan Okrent (Journalist) Teresa Lynch
(ICIC)

• The Aging of Cities
• Impact of growing income and wealth inequality on
  city life
• Detroit A Case Study

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Week 9 March 16Will Demographics Bankrupt
Massachusetts?Alan Clayton-Matthews (NU) Alicia
Sasser (Boston Fed)

• Third Civil War Competition for young workers
  and families
• Domestic In-migration
• Impact of aging population on revenues and public
  spending
• Public Pension Crisis

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Week 10 March 23Demographic Change, Politics,
and Culture

• Impact of immigration, aging, and racial/ethnic
  change on elections, politics, and policy
• Demography and National Security
• Impact of demographic change on culture (e.g.
  language, music, film, theater, art, literature,
  TV, internet)

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Week 11 March 30Can America Afford an Aging
Society?Deborah Banda (AARP)

• Impact of aging population on Social Security
• Impact of aging population on health care
  financing

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Week 12 April 6Demographic Change and the
Affluence of Nations Martin Whyte (Harvard)

• Impact of demographic change on
• Japan the Geriatric Society
• China and India Racing with the population bomb
  
• Russia Population decline and its impacts
• Western Europe The impacts of immigration

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Week 13 April 13Population Growth and National
StabilityLarry Lowenthal Denis Sullivan (NU)

• Israel the Middle East
• Population Growth in Egypt
• The Environment/Population roots of instability
  and violence