ACCESSIBILITY OF COMMUNICATION IN THE MEDIA, AUDIO DESCRIPTION, AND INTRALINGUISTIC SUBTITLING MOD.1

The course is offered among the core courses of the first year of the Master’s Degree Programme. It has a theoretical–applied and professional orientation in the field of media accessibility, with specific reference to audiovisual products.

The course introduces students to the theoretical, methodological and regulatory foundations of audio description for blind and visually impaired audiences and of subtitling for deaf and hard-of-hearing audiences, understood as practices of intralingual and intersemiotic mediation, as well as practices of social inclusion.

Module 1 is devoted to the introduction of the key concepts of media accessibility and to the critical analysis of accessible audiovisual products.

The course aims to provide students with the theoretical and methodological foundations necessary to understand accessibility as an integral part of audiovisual translation and media accessibility studies, as well as a practice of social inclusion, with specific reference to audiovisual media.

At the end of the course, students are expected to achieve the following learning outcomes:

1. Knowledge and understanding:
Knowledge of the main concepts related to media accessibility; knowledge of the main theoretical frameworks concerning disability and inclusion; knowledge of the fundamental features of audio description for blind and visually impaired audiences and intralingual subtitling for deaf and hard-of-hearing viewers.

2. Applying knowledge and understanding:
Ability to analyse audiovisual products from the perspective of accessibility and inclusion; ability to identify linguistic, cultural and multimodal challenges; ability to apply basic criteria for the evaluation of accessibility and inclusion in the media.

3. Making judgements:
Ability to critically analyse and comment on accessible audiovisual products; ability to develop an informed and reflective perspective on communicative choices.

4. Communication skills:
Ability to express critical observations clearly and in a well-structured manner; appropriate use of specialised terminology.

5. Learning skills:
Ability to study and analyse theoretical materials and accessible audiovisual products autonomously; ability to critically consult reference bibliography and relevant guidelines.

The course is held in Italian. However, a B2 level of English (CEFR) may be useful for consulting theoretical materials, guidelines and bibliographic resources originally available in English.

The course is divided into the following thematic units:

Unit 1. Media accessibility
Basic concepts of accessibility; accessibility and inclusion; introduction to media accessibility studies.

Unit 2. Regulatory and institutional frameworks for accessibility
Main national and international regulations; accessibility as a right; reference documents and guidelines.

Unit 3. Introduction to audio description
Definition and functions; target users; basic principles; examples of audio description.

Unit 4. Introduction to intralingual subtitling
Subtitling for deaf and hard-of-hearing viewers; linguistic and technical features; basic conventions.

Unit 5. Analysis of accessible audiovisual products
Guided analysis of audiovisual products; critical discussion of solutions adopted in audio description and intralingual subtitling.

Course handouts prepared by the lecturer and additional bibliographic material will be made available on the course Moodle page (https://moodle.unive.it ) during the teaching period.
The Moodle access password will be provided at the beginning of the semester and may also be requested from the lecturer by email at any time.

The assessment for Module 1 includes a written component and an oral interview.
The written component is a project work involving the critical analysis of an accessible audiovisual product, freely chosen by the student. The project work must be submitted before the oral interview.
The oral interview consists of the discussion of the written project work and more theoretical questions related to the course contents.
The final course grade will be calculated as the average of the grades obtained in Module 1 and Module 2.

written and oral

The lecturer has a duty to ensure that the rules regarding the authenticity and originality of exam tests and papers are respected. Therefore, if there is suspicion of irregular conduct, an additional assessment may be conducted, which could differ from the original exam description.

The final grade will be determined based on the following criteria:
– Quality of the project work, clarity of presentation and accuracy of the analysis of accessibility in the chosen audiovisual product (up to 15 points)
– Knowledge of the theoretical topics covered in the module (up to 5 points)
– Ability to apply and critically analyse the topics addressed in the module (up to 5 points)
– Command of specialised terminology and clarity and confidence in oral presentation (up to 5 points)

The maximum possible score is 30/30.
Honours (cum laude) may be awarded for excellent performance in all the assessment criteria.

Module 1, held by Prof. De Bonis, consists of 30 hours of lectures (6 ECTS), supported by multimedia materials and combined with guided activities on the analysis of accessible audiovisual products and active participation in class discussion.

For further details on Module 2, including contents, programme and examination procedures, students are invited to refer to the module’s official webpage.

This subject deals with topics related to the macro-area "Human capital, health, education" and contributes to the achievement of one or more goals of U. N. Agenda for Sustainable Development