A World of Populations

Transnational Perspectives on Demography in the Twentieth Century

Heinrich Hartmann, Corinna R. Unger

• Publisher: Berghahn Books
• Year: 2014
• Print ISBN: 9781785333514
• eBook ISBN: 9781782384281
• Edition: 1
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: 20th Century History
• Index: History

Demographic study and the idea of a "population" was developed and modified over the course of the twentieth century, mirroring the political, social, and cultural situations and aspirations of different societies. This growing field adapted itself to specific policy concerns and was therefore never apolitical, despite the protestations of practitioners that demography was "natural." Demographics were transformed into public policies that shaped family planning, population growth, medical practice, and environmental conservation. While covering a variety of regions and time periods, the essays in this book share an interest in the transnational dynamics of emerging demographic discourses and practices. Together, they present a global picture of the history of demographic knowledge.

Table of contents

• Title page
• Copyright
• Contents
• Figures
• Introduction
• PART I PRODUCING DEMOGRAPHIC SUBJECTS
• 1 The View From Below and the View From Above
• 2 “Reproduction” as a New Demographic Issue in Interwar Poland
• 3 Family Planning-A Rational Choice?
• 4 “Overpopulation” and the Politics of Family Planning in Chile and Peru
• 5 Revisiting the Early 1970s Commoner-Ehrlich Debate about Population and Environment
• PART II DEMOGRAPHIC KNOWLEDGE IN PRACTICE
• 6 Counting People
• 7 Laparoscopy as a Technology of Population Control
• 8 A Twofold Discovery of Population
• 9 Seeing Population as a Problem
• 10 Filtering Demography and Biomedical Technologies
• Notes on Contributors
• Index