The demography of social cohesion
Social cohesion has been the subject of considerable research and policy-making activity for over a century. While much academic debate is confined with the Sociology, Psychology and Politics disciplines, social cohesion has a critical demographic dimension in terms of how population structures and dynamics, including age, immigration and population turnover, intersect with social, economic and political factors to shift and shape the degree of cohesion. A growing body of research, for example, hypothesises that ethnic diversity is detrimental to social cohesion. Arguably though little research has placed theoretical propositions and empirical findings within the context of the immigrant settlement experience amidst wider social and demographic change. In this seminar, James will introduce the topic of social cohesion and some of the debates around its definition and measurement. Drawing on Australian data collected from the Scanlon Foundation Mapping Social Cohesion surveys, 2009-2017, and more recent survey data collected during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, James will explore the demographic aspects of social cohesion and explain the implications for how cohesion may be experienced within and across communities. The findings demonstrate the research and policy imperative in understanding the demographic characteristics and composition of individuals and their communities.
James O’Donnell is a Lecturer in the School of Demography at the ANU. His research interests centre on analyses and understanding of social cohesion and homelessness and the population drivers and dynamics associated with each. Most recently, James completed a Postdoctoral Fellowship working on the ANU Social Cohesion Grand Challenge in 2021 and a PhD in Demography in 2019.