The “History of Populations” Research Group was set up on May 15, 2007, as part of the Transdisciplinary Research Center “Culture, Space and Memory”. The group’s main objective is to develop interdisciplinary research projects based on the information systematized in demographic bases built by applying the methods and techniques of Historical Demography, a discipline that anchors the progression of Family History and Social History. The group currently includes 37 researchers from History, Historical Demography, Sociology, Computer Science and Technology, Biological Anthropology and other areas of knowledge in the Social Sciences.

Objectives

This research group at CITCEM seeks to make the most of the operational concepts mentioned above as thematic axes that give continuity to and boost research that has been carried out at the universities of Minho and Porto, namely in the area of historical demography, biographies and the study of professional and other groups, touching on other related areas, such as social behaviors that are relevant to demography, the economics of migration, the history of health and illness, marginalities. The aim is to bring together people who have already worked together, particularly around the NEPS projects led by Norberta Amorim, to encourage new researchers with published work to join the collective work circles being organized and to encourage young researchers to study in the areas planned, in order to set up transdisciplinary teams that can develop relevant projects in line with the spirit of the group, particularly in connection with the demands of society.

Thematic units

1) Individuals This thematic unit covers biographical studies in the most diverse senses, from genealogy and lineage studies to biographies with an economic, social and cultural context, including the methodological issues inherent in these types of studies.

2. Groups This thematic unit includes works that point to collective protagonists and their behavior, studying professional groups, social groups or certain types of population contingents that can be glimpsed through exercises in differential demography or qualitative treatment. Thus, this theme can be studied by looking at professional groups (artisans, midwives, doctors, miners, emigrants…), demographic groups (children, young people, old people, women, men…), marginal groups (prostitutes, vagrants, criminals…), as well as analyzing practices that contribute to these positions (the study of trades, the role of social agencies, birth control, penal frameworks, hygiene and welfare conditions, etc.).), as well as the analysis of practices that contribute to these positions (the study of trades, the role of socialization agencies, birth control, the penal framework, hygiene and welfare conditions, the structures underlying these phenomena, such as schools, prisons, hospitals).

3. Population This line will focus on demographic structures and behavior, seeking above all to continue the methodology of reconstituting parishes developed by Norberta Amorim, ensuring the commitments made in this area and so far by NEPS, favoring both local demographic studies and new approaches, such as the many recent studies on the Azores. We welcome papers with a global approach or from a general perspective, focusing on one or more variables (migration, birth rates, nuptiality, mortality).