Event Title
Thick TV: Subtitles for Intercultural Learning
Location
NSC-114
Start Date
3-11-2017 3:30 PM
End Date
3-11-2017 4:30 PM
Description
Since the 1990s, translation has been considered as a "cultural political practice that might be strategic in bringing about social change" (Venuti, 2004). Authors such as Spivak (1992), Appiah (1993), Brisset (1996), and Harvey (1998), have highlighted the importance of alterity and cultural otherness in translation practices. Of particular interest is Appiah's (1993) concept of thick translation, which locates "the text in a rich cultural and linguistic context" by way of annotations and glosses. Regarding subtitling, Nornes (1999) wrote about the corruptness of subtitling practices which advertise learning and intercultural meetings but, in reality, obscure the cultural Other. Considering the growing industry of customizable, individualized television on-demand and video-streaming platforms, this project observes the need to enrich the "anxiety-free zone" for intercultural learning experiences Burwitz-Melzer (2001) that is film, by actively highlighting its intercultural elements. Based on Vygotksy's (1978) understanding of mediating tools, we consider technology as a mediator. The project takes the form of a "thick subtitling" design, understood as intercultural subtitling by way of hyperlinks and annotations included in culturally rich audiovisual texts offered through television on-demand and video streaming platforms. The Venezuelan film "Pelo Malo" (Rondón, 2013) is the pilot AVT through which this design explores the subtitling script and its potential realization as digital media. By submitting this proposal for a maker session at HASTAC 2017, the objective is to present the design in a thirty-minute two-part session: a first section to briefly present the theoretical framework, as well as the work done so far, and a second section for attendees to engage in feedback, discussion, and collaboration that can expand and improve the initiative.
Thick TV: Subtitles for Intercultural Learning
NSC-114
Since the 1990s, translation has been considered as a "cultural political practice that might be strategic in bringing about social change" (Venuti, 2004). Authors such as Spivak (1992), Appiah (1993), Brisset (1996), and Harvey (1998), have highlighted the importance of alterity and cultural otherness in translation practices. Of particular interest is Appiah's (1993) concept of thick translation, which locates "the text in a rich cultural and linguistic context" by way of annotations and glosses.
