Marriage, Cohabitation, and Singlehood in Population Perspective

About

Marriage, cohabitation, and singlehood are interconnected demographic processes that shape population structure, fertility, and social inequality. While traditional demography has focused primarily on issues related to fertility and marriage, other forms of partnerships and singlehood have often been studied in other disciplines, even as they dominate public and policy debates on family life. This course provides a holistic population perspective on union formation and singlehood, integrating demographic and sociological theories, empirical evidence, and critical review of methodological challenges and opportunities. Students will learn to analyze patterns of partnerships and singlehood, interpret trends over time and across contexts, and understand how these personal behaviors shape and are shaped by broader social changes, fostering a critical understanding of family and population change

Course leader

Ariane Ophir is a social demographer interested in gender inequality and population dynamics. She is also the principal investigator of the ERC Starting Grant project ‘SINGLE: Understanding the Demography and Stratification of Singlehood in Europe’

Target group

This course will be useful to undergraduate, Master, and PhD students in demography and related social sciences such as sociology, economics, political science, psychology, and family studies. The course will also benefit researchers, policy analysts, and journalists interested in population-level perspectives on partnership, singlehood, and family dynamics

Course aim

Participants will understand union formation and singlehood as interrelated demographic processes, and then apply demographic methods to study partnerships and singlehood using real data. Moreover, they will interpret population-level trends and assess cross-country and life-course differences. In addition, participants will connect individual behaviors to broader demographic outcomes, including fertility, aging, and inequality. Finally, they will critically engage with public and academic debates on dating, partnership, and family change

Fee info