General overview

The DTD Winter School is meant to create an international and highly qualified learning environment, which should allow participants to be actively involved in workshops and seminars and to experiment innovative ways of collaborative learning under the supervision of re-known academics and experts from different Universities and Research Centres.

The demographic transition is a comprehensive social process that has resulted – or is leading – the way all countries to abandon the old demographic regime, from high levels of mortality and fertility to a mean age at death of seventy years and a fertility level close to two children per woman. The demographic transition is closely interrelated with the economic and social development, and shows surprising similarities – but also clear differences – among the countries which are (now) rich and poor. The main aim of the Winter School is to put students in touch with some of the leading international scholars on these issues, encouraging them to deepen a theme so important to understand the contemporary world.

The Winter School in Demographic Transition and Development is primarily intended for young people having an academic or professional interest in demography as well as a documented knowledge of Demography. The application is mainly recommended for PhD students and young researchers. Among young researchers, preference is given to those who have finished their training less than three years prior to the deadline of this call. In case of young researcher who have taken documented maternity leave, the interval can be prolonged.

The main topics of the lectures are: (1) Description of the demographic transition and socio-economic development in different contexts around the world (now) rich and poor; (2) How to measure the demographic transition and development in poor countries today, (3) Association among demographic transition, development and some components of modernization: education, religion, urbanization, politics, international migration. The originality of the School is to compare students and teachers from different areas of the world where the demographic transition is already completed, under way or just in its early stages. The course consists of 13 lectures of one hour and half each, 10 presentations of case studies (about 45 minutes each), two seminars and a final general discussion. The case studies will be presented by some participants among those who will have obtained a scholarship. Classes will be taught in English.

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