An Introduction to Population Geographies: Lives Across Space

An Introduction to Population Geographies provides a foundation to the incredibly diverse, topical and interesting field of twenty-first-century population geography. It establishes the substantive concerns of the subdiscipline, acknowledges the sheer diversity of its approaches, key concepts and theories and engages with the resulting major areas of academic debate that stem from this richness. Written in an accessible style and assuming little prior knowledge of topics covered, yet drawing on a wide range of diverse academic literature, the book’s particular originality comes from its extended definition of population geography that locates it firmly within the multiple geographies of the life course. Consequently, issues such as childhood and adulthood, family dynamics, ageing, everyday mobilities, morbidity and differential ability assume a prominent place alongside the classic population geography triumvirate of births, migrations and deaths. This broader framing of the field allows the book to address more holistically aspects of lives across space often provided little attention in current textbooks. Particular note is given to how these lives are shaped though hybrid social, biological and individual arenas of differential life course experience. By engaging with traditional quantitative perspectives and newer qualitative insights, the authors engage students from the quantitative macro scale of population to the micro individual scale. Aimed at higher-level undergraduate and graduate students, this introductory text provides a well-developed pedagogy, including case studies that illustrate theory, concepts and issues.

Table of Contents:
List of Figures List of Tables List of Boxes Preface Chapter 1: Viewing Populations Spatially: Population Geography as Lives Across Space 1.1 Introduction: Lives Across Space 1.2 Of Populations and Population Geography 1.3 A Short History of Population Geography 1.4 Towards Relational Population Geographies 1.5 Lives Across Space Chapter 2: Population Geographies of the Life Course Introduction Lives Individual and Common Arenas of Differential Life Course Experience Conclusion: Representing Lives Across Space Chapter 3: Global Spatial Distributions of Population 3.1 Introduction: Snapshots of People in the World 3.2 The Populated World: a Global Demographic Perspective 3.3 The Populated World: Urban, Intra-Urban, Rural Spaces 3.4 Conclusion: Dynamism of Lives Across Space Chapter 4: Fertility and Births 4.1 Introduction: Production of Children 4.2 Modelling Geographies of Fertility 4.3 Global Fertility Patterns 4.4 The "Value" of a Child 4.5 Managing Timing and Spacing of Births 4.6 State Policies and Fertility 4.7 "New" Fertilities 4.8 Conclusion: Fertility’s Multiple Entanglements Chapter 5: Placing Human Migration 5.1 Introduction: Defining Migration 5.2 The Era of Mobilities? 5.3 Migration as Natural Expression 5.4 Migration as Societal Expression 5.5 Migration as Individual Expression 5.6 Migration as Life Course Expression 5.7 Conclusion: Broadening Understanding of Human Migration Chapter 6: From Everyday to Residential Mobilities 6.1 Introduction: Mobilities to Migrations 6.2 Everyday Mobilities 6.3 Residential Mobility 6.4 Conclusion Chapter 7: Employment Migrations 7.1 Introduction: Beyond Commuting 7.2 Student Migrations 7.3 General Employment Migrations 7.4 Specialist Employment Migrations 7.5 Employment Migrations as Family and Community Practices 7.6 Conclusion Chapter 8: Lifestyle Migrations 8.1 Introduction: Migration for the Project of the Self 8.2 The Lure of the City 8.3 The Lure of the Country 8.4 Lifestyle Retirement Migrations 8.5 Conclusion: Relational Lifestyle Migrations Chapter 9: Forced Migrations 9.1 Introduction: the Importance of Labels 9.2 Recognizing Forced Migration and Mobilities 9.3 Forced Mobilities 9.4 Refugees, Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and Asylum-Seekers 9.5 Conclusion: looking beyond victimhood Chapter 10: Mortality and Ageing 10.1 Introduction: the Ageing Body and the End of a Life Course 10.2 Elderly Lives 10.3 Mortality: Measurement and Global Trends and Patterns 10.4 Modeling Mortality Geographies 10.5 Differentiating Mortality: Causes of Death 10.6 Conclusion: Mortality, Resources and Access in an Ageing World Chapter 11: 21st Century Lives Across Space 11.1. 21st Century Perspectives 11.2 21st Century Challenges 11.3 21st Century Populations 11.4 Conclusion: 21st Century Population Geography Bibliography Index

About the Author :
Holly R. Barcus is a Professor and Chair in Geography at Macalester College, St. Paul, Minnesota, USA. Keith Halfacree is a Reader in Human Geography at Swansea University, Swansea, UK.

Review :
"Open, lively, and path-breaking - Barcus and Halfacree re-centre our understandings of population geographies through their life course framing and inspire and provoke in equal measure: brilliant!" Professor Adrian J. Bailey, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong. "At the core of this textbook is the argument that population geography should center on human beings and the myriad ways human beings live their lives across space. It is a more intimate approach to demography than is found in most other textbooks. The authors introduce students to life course theory and incorporate stories from around the globe in a way that humanizes the field and widens its scope." John Cromartie, Geographer at Economic Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, USA.