About

I'm Heitor Pagliaro, a tenured professor at the Federal University of Goias (UFG) in Brazil, where I'm serving my second two-year term as the Director (elected by peers) of the PhD Program in Human Rights. Prior to this, I served a two-year elected term as the Deputy of the program. In this capacity, I oversee more than 300 individuals, including 34 faculty members, 280 MA and PhD students, 10 postdoctoral researchers, and administrative staff.

At UFG, I'm also the Deputy Director the Specialization Program in Prison Administration, which, through a partnership with the Ministry of Justice of Brazil, undertakes the formation of 288 law enforcement agents from all over the country.

I'm also the Campus Coordinator of Research and Graduate Programs at UFG.

My research primarily delves into political philosophy, philosophy of law, and the theoretical underpinnings of human rights. Within these domains, I am actively involved in teaching, publishing scholarly works, and supervising postdoctoral researches, and PhD, MA, and undergraduate students. I regularly collaborate with scientific journals, both as a reviewer and as an editor, drawing from my extensive experience in this capacity.

I completed my PhD in Philosophy of Law at the University of Brasília (Brazil),  with a dissertation focused on freedom and sovereignty in Rousseau. Additionally, I earned an MA in Ethics and Political Philosophy from UFG, with a thesis centered on natural law in Rousseau. During my undergraduate studies in Law, also at UFG, my thesis explored the philosophical foundations of human rights.

I've been a visiting scholar at the Department of Government, University of Texas at Austin (2024), and at the Department of Law, Politics, and Development at Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna in Pisa, Italy (2024). In 2018, I provided legal and scientific consultancy to the American Bar Association (USA), in the field of International Human Rights Law.

As a licensed attorney in Brazil (OAB/GO 32.571) and Portugal (OA 67768L), I served as Vice President of the Human Rights Commission of the Brazilian Bar Association – Goias Chapter (2022–2024) and as a member of the State Council on Human Rights, Racial Equality, and Anti-Discrimination of Goias, nominated by the Goias state governor (2022-2024), both in Brazil. 

I have taught over 100 graduate and undergraduate courses, participated in over 100 defense committees (30+ doctoral, 40+ master's, and 60+ bachelor's), and supervised 60+ researchers at various levels (postdoctoral, doctoral, master's, and undergraduate). My scholarly output includes 60+ academic talks and 35+ publications.

Before joining UFG, I held two tenured professor positions in Brazil, one at the University of Mineiros and the other at the University of Goiatuba. Prior to these roles, I served in three temporary faculty positions at public universities in Brazil.

I am Italian-Brazilian, born in Brazil in 1986, with Italian roots from Calabria. Currently residing in Brazil, I speak English, Italian, and Portuguese. This website is regularly updated to share my academic work with the public. If you are interested in academic collaboration, research partnerships, or scholarly dialogue, please feel free to reach out. I am always open to exploring new opportunities and engaging in meaningful exchanges within our shared fields of interest.

ORCID: 0000-0001-6431-930X.