29889 - Historical Demography

Academic Year 2009/2010

  • Docente: Alessandra Samoggia
  • Credits: 10
  • SSD: SECS-S/04
  • Language: Italian
  • Moduli: Alessandra Samoggia (Modulo 2) Lorenzo Del Panta (Modulo 1)
  • Teaching Mode: Traditional lectures (Modulo 2) Traditional lectures (Modulo 1)
  • Campus: Bologna
  • Corso: First cycle degree programme (L) in STATISTICAL SCIENCES (cod. 8054)

Learning outcomes

The aim of the course is to deal with the problems of analysis of the sources of historical populations, and to give to the students the instruments for evaluating the changes in the demographic regime in the long run.

Course contents

The course is divided into two modules:

1 – Sources and methods of historical demography (Prof. Lorenzo Del Panta)

2 – The Italian population evolution in the long run in the European context (Prof. Alessandra Samoggia)

PART 1:  

The sources of historical demography in Italy. The enumerations of the population and the first individual censuses. The parish registers. The Napoleonic civil registrations and the demographic statistics of the Restoration period. A short account of Italian demographic sources in the period after National Unification.

PART 2:

The specificity of the methods of historical demography, and the possibility of adapting the techniques derived from contemporary demography. Techniques using individual data: the family reconstitution technique. Techniques of reconstruction of the demographic systems based on the use of serial data.

PART 3:

The evolution of the Italian population in the long run in the European context and the regulatory mechanisms of the historical communities. The plague cycle between the late Middle Age and the Modern Age. The links among the economic system, the demographic system and the environment. Agricultural revolution, industrial revolution and the early changes of the ancient demographic system. The factors of the territorial differences in the demographic regime before the demographic transition. Patterns and causes of the decline of fertility and mortality. The contemporary demographic regime in Italy and in the planet.

More detailed information concerning the recommended readings  may be found in the Italian section



Readings/Bibliography

- L. Del Panta, R. Rettaroli, Introduzione alla demografia storica , Laterza, Roma-Bari, 1994

- M. Livi Bacci, Storia minima della popolazione del mondo, Il Mulino, Bologna, 2005

Teaching methods

The contents of the program will be stated within the lessons. In addition, seminars and practical work on historical statistical data will be proposed  to  students.

Assessment methods

Oral examination

Teaching tools

Photostats of historical documents will be shown with the aid of a  projector; pc (excel) 

Office hours

See the website of Alessandra Samoggia

See the website of Lorenzo Del Panta