Very enjoyable subject! I really liked getting to learn more about demography. A lot of the content is focused on tangible measures and concepts which is a refreshing change to the heavy theory in other Arts subjects. 20% of the overall grade is just an oral summary of a reading and 30% is a short take home exam with 2+ weeks to complete. The essay requires a bit more work but you can literally choose anything related to demography as your topic so it’s very approachable. However, I will say that this subject was disorganised at times and communication was lacking between tutors. You will want to get Ariane as your tutor if you do this subject - she’s incredible and so kind! Tutorials can also be dry, but don’t require much pre-work.

Anonymous, Semester 1, 2021

I took a chance on this subject since I have no background in geography and it really surprised me, ended up liking it towards the end. This subject takes you through the study of population change over time and mainly concentrates on fluctuations in fertility rates, mortality rates and migration patterns. The assessments are pretty fair and decently spread out, so pretty easy to stay on top of them if you plan well. The research essay is worth 50% so you’ll have to allocate a good amount of time to it, but the take-home exam is really straightforward and doable in the time given. The tutes are devoted to listening to other people’s presentations so there’s never really a chance to engage in dialogue with your tutor about the content, so that’s a weakness. But otherwise not a difficult subject. Pretty content-heavy but not conceptually difficult. It can get boring at times but it definitely has lots of good stuff too. Ariane is a passionate and fun lecturer whose energy makes the weekly two-hour lectures easier to get through. A fair grade if you do the work!

Anonymous, Semester 1, 2021