Dear Kristin Luker
Thank you for your message.
I agree with you about anthropology giving the point of view of actors as
part of the explanation. I also have in mind the paper of Otis Dudley Duncan
(1972) saying that demography can give a whole explanation to a phenomenon
(he takes the example of migration), but it would be of a specific kind, non
exclusive of a sociologic of anthropologic one.
About teenage pregnancy, I thought of the paper from Anne Calves, who made a
study in Cameroon (where I spent a few years) and worked with Dominique
Meekers at Pennsylvania State University. The title of the paper presented
at the PAA 1997 is « Premarital sexual activity and childbearing in Cameroon
: social disorganization or rational strategy ? » They mixed qualitative
(focus groups) and quantitative (survey) approaches and worked from a
demographic perspective.
Demography may be another way of dealing with race, gender and poverty just
as Anthropology has its own one. Of course concepts are also determined by
disciplines. I believe we enter here a complex question which has been dealt
with by Denzin and Lincoln (1994). But to a certain extent, we can deal with
one theme, for example race, gender or poverty, from a anthropologic point
of view, as well
as from a sociologic or demographic one. I am surprised that no demographic
aspects participated in the "crisis" you talked about. I suppose your study
took place in the US. I will have a look at your book. It may make my ideas
clearer.
One question remains : can demography use a qualitative approach without
adopting another discipline's point of view ? That's partly what means to me
the question of Josef Schmid (1988) : "what should be meant by qualitative
demography ?"
The institutional aspects are of course determinants of the way studies are
developed. And in the US, Demography has been introduced in the universities
mostly through Departments of Sociology and Anthropology, sometimes
Geography and Economics, as opposed to a specific and new Departement. I
wonder what's the name of the former heads of the Demography department at
Berkeley. May be I should read some of their publications. It may shed
lights as well.
Best wishes,
Myriam de Loenzien
IRD, Paris (France)
e-mail : [log in to unmask]
----- Original Message -----
From: Kristin Luker <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Friday, October 20, 2000 9:34 PM
Subject: qual demography
> As you may know, the Berkeley demography department was until recently
> headed by two anthropologists. I think that Quantitative methods are best
> for examining--in the broad scope--what is happening, and qualitative
> methods are good for examining why, from the point of view of the actors.
>
> This may not be directly on the point, but I recently wrote a book called
> Dubious Conceptions (Harvard University Press), where I argued that the
> "crisis" over teenage pregnancy has relatively little to do with
> demography, and a great deal to do with political dilemmas over race,
> gender and poverty.
>
> So I think "qualitative demography" is not an oxymoron--but we need more
of
> it. Welcome!
>
> Best,
>
> Kristin Luker
> Professor of Sociology and Professor in the Jurisprudence and Social
Policy
> Program,
> Boalt Hall School of Law
>
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