Our “Populating the 1980s: A decade revisited” online seminar series has wrapped for 2023, and will be returning in March 2024. The series, convened by Dr Aprajita Sarcar, considers the afterlife of demographic transition in different political geographies. Asking whether 1980s population policy should be read as an artifact of previous decades, or a new field in itself, the series brings together scholars to re-theorise population policy and discourse in this often-understudied decade.
Speakers for 2023 included Mytheli Sreenivas on South Asia, Sanjam Ahluwalia on India, Aya Homei on Japan, Raúl Antonio Necochea on Peru, and Sarah Mellors Rodriguez on China. Their presentations are now all available to watch below and on the series page.
Populating the 1980s will return on the 27th March 2024, with Alison Bashford speaking on ”Demographic Transition as an Artefact: Ten Years of Global Population – History, Geopolitics & Life on Earth & Everything in Between”. Register via eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/populating-the-1980s-a-decade-revisited-tickets-559321655127
29 March 2023, Mytheli Sreenivas (Ohio State), “South Asia, Population Planning and National Imaginations: A Discussion on Method and Periodization”
In our first session of the “Populating the 1980s” series Professor Mytheli Sreenivas (Ohio State) was joined by Darshi Thoradeniya (University of Colombo) and Amna Qayyum, to discuss reproductive politics in South Asia.
26 April 2023, Sanjam Ahluwalia (Northern Arizona University), “Entertainment Interruptus: Films Division of India’s Messaging on Population Control, Family Planning, and Happiness, in the 1980s”
In the second session of the “Populating the 1980s” series, we welcomed Associate Professor Sanjam Ahluwalia (Northern Arizona University), who discussed the use of films to propagate family planning messages in India in the 1980s.
24 May 2023, Aya Homei (Manchester University), “Under the Name of Friendship: Population Politics & Sino-Japanese Cooperation in Family Planning in the 1980s”
In our third session of the “Populating the 1980s” series, Dr Aya Homei (Manchester University) joins Dr Aprajita Sarcar (UNSW) to discuss Sino-Japanese cooperation on family planning in the 1980s.
11 October 2023, Raúl Antonio Necochea (University of North California), “From Demographic to Discursive Explosion: New Players & Priorities in 1980s Peru”
In our fourth session of the “Populating the 1980s” series, Associate Professor Raúl Antonio Necochea (Uni. of North California) joined Dr Aprajita Sarcar to discuss demographic debates in 1980s Peru.
15 November 2023, Sarah Mellors Rodriguez (Missouri State University), “From Pronatalism to Just One Child and Back Again: The Making and Unmaking of China’s One Child Policy”
In our fifth session of the “Populating the 1980s” series, Associate Professor Sarah Mellors Rodriguez (Missouri State University) discussed the evolution of China’s reproductive politics since the 1980s. Her paper is entitled: “From Pronatalism to Just One Child and Back: The Making and Unmaking of China’s One Child Policy.”
