SFA Project Check in #1

1. As of now, what is your central question? (Your central question is the question that each of your takes will take up and to which your project as a whole will respond.)
   1. How do we see a physical presence influence an attitude or tone in the novels we’ve read, specifically Leaving Atlanta? Does physical presence impact interpersonal relationships, behavior, and communications?
2. How does the central question you list above engage the course themes, materials, and/or discussions?
   1. Black bodies in motion throughout time and space. I am curious to analyze the movement between characters and the influence it has on their behavioral expressions and emotional reactions, this brings attention to the course’s theme of black bodies in motion throughout time and space, and our discussion of how this influences the way the black individual navigates through society. 
3. What are the main course texts and / or parts of text that you intend to foreground in your project? And why?
   1. My main focus will be on Leaving Atlanta by Tayari Jones, I plan to bring in Sassafrass, Cypress, & Indigo as comparative textual support, but the primary focus will be on Tayari Jones’ characters, specifically Rodney. This is important because how their experiences and actions are altered during the 1979 Atlanta child murders greatly differ from one another based on their family, social, and economic dynamics. What differences occurred between the three characters actions versus what similarities they shared will ultimately support the theme of my central question(s). 
4. Provide either a 300-400 word abstract, a draft of your introduction and thesis, a detailed prose outline, or a thorough and clear draft of 1/4 of your final project. Please include any supporting documents (e.g. pictures, audio files, etc.)
   1. Script below question seven.
5. List 5 -10 clear and feasible action steps you intend to take between now and the project check in # 2 (Due 11/30)?
   1. Overall plan to finish and finalize the script
      1. Continue explaining the influence and importance of decision making and conflict in a text when analyzing a character’s behavior (150 word minimum)
      2. Explain how this relates specifically to Rodney’s character development and section (150 word minimum)
      3. Compare and contrast all three characters behaviors: Tasha, Rodney, Octavia (150 word minimum)
      4. Implement the “call to action” closing of my episode. Conclusion (250 word minimum)
      5. Edit script. Ensure it is linear and follows consistent logic. 
6. Do you have questions and/or specific areas that you would like feedback on at this point?
   1. If I am connecting specifically enough to the course’s objectives?
   2. If I will need to hone in on the text in greater detail, as well as connecting to other novels from this semester?
   3. Is my theme relevant enough? Or is it too broad and open ended…
7. How might you rephrase your project’s central question in order to maximize the chance of someone else arriving at the same or close to the same response that you arrive at?
   1. The characters from the various novels we have read all display some form of living in pain or living around pain, thus, how have these settings and emotions altered their behaviors and movements? 

Script for Podcast:

Introduction to movement’s influence:

Body language is a powerful indicator of others’ emotions in social interactions, with positive signals triggering approach, warmth and confidence, and negative ones defensiveness and perhaps quietness. Diversity, in all of its forms, can influence these interactions. In this case, race and socioeconomic factors play an influential role for the characters in Tayari Jones’ novel, Leaving Atlanta. 

Despite its obvious social relevance, an interaction between body expression and race remains slightly dismissed within literary texts, specifically in many black coming of age novels. With explanations of the impact of race being referred to the role of race in face recognition, race-related interactions appear to mainly be emotion specific. 

Overall, this provides reason to look into the ways that race and social dynamics influence body perception and movement.

Scientific backing/Cognitive heuristics related (backs up explanation and influence of social interactions in spatial movement):                

Individual versus collective motion is important to take into consideration when understanding Tayari Jones’ characters decision making, behavior, and movement. The timing and nature of individual behaviors underneath larger group settings is subject to debating who they are as a developing character, and their identity created by the author, whether or not we as readers are aware. Rooted in cognitive psychology, individuals are taught to follow instructions and orders, ‘follow the person in front’ ‘come home right after school.’ In this case, with Leaving Atlanta, all three are told to ‘not get into a stranger’s car’ ‘come home before dark,’ putting limits and boundaries on their already limited movements as black children.             In other words, our paradigm explicitly reflects individual behavior as a series of constructed decisions. Our cognitive heuristics produces realistic responses and actions, such as following instructions and “queuing” behavior. However, environment and race have a greater influence, showing that such factors may force individuals to follow different cognitive heuristics depending on the context at hand. This differs amongst individuals, specifically in this case individuals of race, due to the cause of varying motivation levels.