Posting for Friday, February 9

Hello everyone,

 

Let’s see if I can successfully post my blog this week. Here questions and thoughts generated by Dr. Alter’s works (which I very much enjoyed).

 

My first question/comment results strictly from curiosity as I was intrigued by the relation between linguistic groups and patterns of fertility decline. I had never encountered this idea before, but I also cannot imagine that the subject was dropped. Thus, I would be interested in the historical rationales for this phenomenon.

 

Relating the articles to our discussion of databases, I am interested to hear what classifications, categories, fields, etc. were included in the Princeton demographic study. I am also interested in what categories were not included, but in retrospect might have been useful. Alter addresses this issue (and cultural) history in the example of linguistic groups. Clearly, this leads to notions of methodology and how a particular historian’s methodology shapes his/her work–and that would seem a constant regardless of whether one uses a database, or not. But, I would be interested in a discussion of specifically how databases might be (consciously or not) shaping the project and its outcome. (This relates back to one of Kirsten’s questions for the discussion last week. Sorry, I am not being gender-biased in my use of names, here–we [or, I] know Kirsten, but not Dr. Alter As a related example of this idea, there has been some criticism of Power Point presentations as being too “linear” in their presentation of material. So, in what ways are the requirements and/or limitations of the database placing limits on the project? Or, is this a non-issue?

 

Next, and somewhat related to the issue above, comes the issue of “agency.” Alter (and the studies mentioned) appear to give agency to the population in bringing on the European fertility transition, for example through desire for smaller families, seeking out birth control, spacing, later marriages, etc. What factors beyond human control influenced fertility–economic downswings, diseases, famine, etc.? More importantly, what “types” of categories were included on the Princeton “survey”? How many of the categories assumed human agency and how many did not? Was that a conscious element of the survey?

 

Now, on to Social Explorer:

 

(1) Where (based on polls and statistics) would I find the greatest support for the war in Iraq? Where would I find the most opposition?

–Next, what are the wealthiest communities in the United States? Which are the poorest communities?

 

(2) Do the percentage of women and minorities in the upper-echelons (of industry and profession) vary regionally in the United States?

 

(3) Which state (in the United States) has the largest concentration of Catholics? Or Protestants, etc.?

 

Final thoughts, on using databases and Social Explorer for my work–It would be interesting to track the Loyalists in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick to track where their children “ended up”? In other words, did the children remain in the Atlantic provinces? Did they relocate to the United States? Did they relocate elsewhere in the empire? Did they go home to Great Britain? Next, does this vary according to gender? For example, did more male children remain in the Atlantic colonies than female children?