Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro

The objective of this course is to carry out an updated reading of certain classic texts of the socialist tradition in order to discuss the relationship between the Political and the Economic, and from there, between a Politics overdetermined by class and a postmodern Politics centered on identity and subjective elements. This course explores Rousseau, the thought of the utopian socialists and their Marxist critique, the evolution of Marx and Engels' political thought from 1848, the Paris Commune, Evolutionism and reformism in the Marxism of the Second International, the Luxembourgist critique, Lenin and the emergence of Bolshevism, Gramsci, and the radicalization of Leninism by Trotsky. This course also includes contemporary assessments of these topics.

This course offers an in-depth discussion of key topics in the history of Brazilian art and its relation to other cultural spheres such as architecture, literature, and popular music. It examines the trajectory of avant-gardism in Brazil, starting with its consolidation in 1920s debates apropos of notions such as futurism, modernismo and
anthropophagy; its constructivist inflection in the 1950s, with the appearance of Museums of Modern Art and the São Paulo Biennial and provisional cultural alliances with cosmopolitan sectors of an emergent urban bourgeoisie; the growing social and political tensions that marked the resurgence of figuration in the 1960s and the
development of what artist Hélio Oiticica called his “environmental program”; and finally the dispersion of the avant-garde during the harshest years of the military regime and the rise of new experimental tendencies by Brazilian artists who either remained in the country or took exile abroad in the 1970s. The course also discusses the broader background of modernism in Brazil (as opposed to the narrower sphere of the avant-garde) and developments in the fields of architecture (such as the construction of Brasília) and popular music (such as musical Tropicalism) that proved impactful also to visual artists. Throughout the course, students investigate the issue of nationalism x internationalism in the arts, highlighting different strategies of critical assimilation of international tendencies by Brazilian artists and critics.
The course includes not only classroom lectures and discussion seminars, but also occasional visits to museums and architectural landmarks in Rio de Janeiro.

This course covers concepts and approaches to environmental ethics, including environmental ethics in the philosophical rationalities of Western culture, environmental ethics in traditional cultures, environmental ethics and biodiversity, environmental ethics and spirituality, environmental ethics and the major socio-environmental challenges of the national and international community, ethics and environmental education, and experiences in the construction of ethical-environmental values ​​in the processes of training multiplier agents in local communities.

This course introduces basic concepts in Financial Modeling and Business Analytics that are typically implemented in spreadsheet models and shows how data can be used to solve business problems. The course discusses methods that are used extensively in business organizations to solve large, structured problems. Such methods generate results that support decision-making at all levels of the organization over various time horizons. This course carries the Quantitative Reasoning flag, which are courses designed to equip students with skills that are necessary for understanding the types of quantitative arguments regularly encountered in professional life. Students should therefore expect a substantial portion of the grade to come from use of quantitative skills to analyze real-world problems. This course includes the use of Excel and R to estimate financial models and variables, such as NPV and IRR, WACC, FCF, assets Beta and return, efficient frontier, CAPM, SML, variance and covariance matrixes, and options pricing. Students use basic operations in R, scripts, data manipulation, and programming using R.

This course examines musical phenomena from an anthropological perspective. From this perspective, music is approached as a social practice and symbolic production, as a performance that produces meanings and agency for musicians and listeners. Present in all societies, music tends to be a collective and ritualized activity through which its practitioners - including listeners - reaffirm shared values ​​and a sense of belonging to local, national, and transnational communities or social groups. At the end of the course, students are expected to 1: improve their ability to deal with the experience of musical otherness and, 2: understand the implications of the cultural, social, and political context in defining the different concepts of music and meanings that are collectively attributed to it.

This course focuses on the theoretical and practical knowledge needed to negotiate, execute, and monitor the performance of international commercial contracts. This course provides undergraduate law students with a comprehensive understanding of the life cycle of international commercial contracts. It covers key aspects such as contract formation, interpretation, performance, non-performance, remedies for breach, exemptions, and dispute resolution. By the end of the course, students have a strong foundation in the principles and practices governing international commercial contracts, enabling them to effectively draft, analyze, and negotiate such contracts.

This course provides a solid theoretical base of specific issues related to international marketing, allied to a practical view, based on case discussions. The course permits students to develop knowledge of how to plan a marketing strategy for expansions into foreign markets based on such issues. This course covers the concepts and theories in international marketing, the challenges and opportunities in international markets, environment analysis of international markets, strategies to enter international markets, repositioning in international markets, country of origin image, pricing strategies in international markets, distribution tendencies in international markets, and non-traditional marketing communication in international markets.

What if pop culture is not only about entertainment but also raises critical issues about our human condition? For instance, Taylor Swift's lyrics often rely on introspective work between choices and values. Game of Thrones reminds us of the pervasiveness of violence in our societies. The current ‘sneakers hype’ reveals how our bodies are expressions of status and identity. This course examines TV series, movies, music, fashion, and other ‘popular objects’ to explore ethical and philosophical questions connected to our times.

This course addresses the theme of the ecological crisis and presents the discussion surrounding the Anthropocene. It questions the conceptual separation between the cultural order and the natural order and reflects on the meanings that the categories of nature and the environment acquire in different currents of anthropological thought. It presents ecological movements and philosophical and anthropological aspects surrounding the problem of the global ecological crisis. This course includes discussion on the environmental issue in anthropological thought; humanity and animality; global environmental crisis: intrusion of Gaia and the Anthropocene; boundaries between nature and culture; multispecies studies; and decolonial ecology.

This course explores the origins, contemporary manifestations, strategies, impacts, and responses to extremism in Europe and the Americas, with a focus on right-wing examples. It examines the political, social, and cultural dimensions of these movements. The course also distinguishes extremism from related phenomena such as populism and nationalism, explores the motivations and ideologies behind extremism, and assesses the consequences for democracy and social cohesion in these regions. The course begins with a brief introduction to the definitions and distinctions surrounding extremism. In Section II, the course takes a closer look at how extremism has developed in contemporary European and American contexts. Section III focuses on analyzing extremist ideologies and discourses, including propaganda and online strategies, through various case studies. Finally, Section IV reflects on the social and political impacts of extremism, as well as the responses from governments and civil society. The course is taught through lectures, cross-sectional analysis, group discussions, and the use of primary and secondary sources alongside case studies.