A basic demographic fact about the United States is that, on average, White people live longer than Black people. But what, concretely, does this fact mean? Drawing from a diverse set of social science, health, and literary sources, this talk argues that research has three families of strategy for making sense of the size of mortality disparities — distribution-based, action-based, and meaning-based measures — and provides new empirical results in each vein that collectively aim to put demographic measurement onto a more human footing. Implications for thinking about redress for racial harms will be discussed.
Learning Objectives: After this webinar, attendees will be able to:
- Summarize the size of Black/White mortality and lifespan disparities in the United States.
- Critically analyze the meanings of those disparities.
- Think creatively about what kinds of measurements can capture the real, human meaning of a life lost too early.
This is an event of the Office of Academic Clinical Affairs (OACA), hosted by the Center for Bioethics, and co-sponsored by the following U of MN Units: Business Advancement Center for Health (BACH), Minnesota Carlson; Center for the Study of Political Psychology, College of Liberal Arts; Community-University Health Care Center (CUHCC); Medical School; Minnesota Population Center; Program in Health Disparities Research, Medical School; Rural Health Research Center; School of Dentistry; School of Nursing; School of Public Health.
Register for this event virtually here