Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro

This course offers a study of the systems and principles of nature and their application in graphic design. It provides an analysis of functional, structural, and formal solutions.

This course explores the geomorphological processes developed in coastal environments. Topics include: main coastal features-- coastal plains, escarpments or cliffs, coastal strands, tombolos, pontoons; sedimentary dynamics of beaches, wind transport, and the formation of dunes; sediment cover and transportation on the internal continental shelf; evolutionary reconstitution of the great coastal plains; coastal erosion monitoring; dynamics of forcing sediment work-- winds, waves, tide, and estuaries; forces generating kinetic energy of the sediments and the improvement of the coastal features of the marine or lake bottom; subsidies for shoreline or coastal management today and in the most recent geological periods.

This course integrates the political and social history of Brazil from the 16th through the 21st century. The first part of the course covers the Portuguese colonization of America with its commercial practices and slavery; the colonial regions and the construction of colonial identities; political emancipation and the imperial state; and the crisis of slavery and the Republican projects. The second half of the course turns to the historical experience of the Brazilian Republic; the relations between society and state and the formation of the capitalist order; other political and social projects; authoritarianism and democracy.

This course offers an interdisciplinary study of health and the environment. Topics include: concepts of health and environment and their relationships with current patterns of global economic development and population growth; sustainable development in the current economic, social, and environmental context; health and environment as constitutional law; health, environment, and quality of life; public health and environmental epidemiology; environmental sanitation; urban and rural ecosystems; perception, evaluation, analysis, and management of environmental risks.

This course discusses the creative process in the illustration of the visual narrative in children's books. Topics include: cultural aspects of story context; conceptual and symbolic questions of illustration; development of artistic processes; functions and means in different representations; cutting, drawing, and painting techniques; transparency and opacity; light and shadow; perspective; composition of visual narratives.

This course offers a study of the concepts and techniques of programming microcontrollers.

Client / agency relationship. Service as an advertising activity and its relations with other areas of the agency. Application of marketing principles in evaluating markets. Communication strategies. Campaign presentation techniques.

This course examines the contemporary international system, including international actors, states, international organizations, and transnational powers. It focuses on conflict and cooperation, the practice of war, mechanisms of stabilization within the international system, the role of the United Nations, other international organizations and institutions of collective security and international standards, and contemporary issues in international policy.

This course examines the various approaches to and fundamental concepts of ecology. Topics include the origins of ecology; the importance of ecology, as well as its relation to geography; population dynamics; microecology; geo-biological control; the ecology of dispersion and its impact on the dynamics of ecosystems; biodiversity; and urban ecology.

This course examines the developments and challenges of democracy and human rights in Latin America. First, it discusses the theoretical frameworks for understanding human rights. Then, it reviews the history of authoritarian regimes and human rights abuses in the 1970s and 1980s. Finally, the course explores current challenges to political and civil rights, economic and social performance of political regimes; women's rights, indigenous rights, human security and conflict resolution, and U.S. human rights policy in the region.