Camilla Bank Friis defends her PhD Thesis at the Department of Sociology

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Camilla Bank Friis

Candidate

Camilla Bank Friis, Department of Sociology, University of Copenhagen

Title

Ticket Inspection in Action
Managing Impressions, Status, and Emotions in Contested Everyday Encounters

Assessment Committee

  • Associate professor Poul Poder, Department of Sociology, University of Copenhagen (chair)
  • Associate professor Anne Nassauer, Freie Universität 
  • Associate professor Don Weenink, University of Amsterdam

Host

Head of the PhD Programme Bente Halkier

Time and place

17 March 2022, 1:00 PM
University of Copenhagen, Faculty of Social Sciences
Øster Farimagsgade 5, 1353 Copenhagen K, CSS 35.1.06.

It is possible to attend via zoom, get the link by writing to phd@soc.ku.dk

The thesis is available at Academic Books as an e-book. The thesis is also available for reading at the Department of Sociology in room 16.1.23.

After the defence, the department will host a reception in room 16.1.62.

Summary

This dissertation examines how and why contested everyday encounters may escalate to aggression and violence. This is studied in the context of ticket fining events where inspectors and passengers negotiate the definition of the situation and thus in turn shape the risk of escalation. Contributing to the microsociology of violence, this dissertation theorizes the interactional dynamics of these events, with a focus on the verbal and nonverbal management of impressions, status, and emotions. Empirically, the dissertation draws on a unique combination of video footage recorded by occupational body-worn cameras and interviews with ticket inspectors. Key findings include:

  • Ticket fining events are character contests with behavioral displays that claim or give status.
  • Passengers convey an innocent, honest, wronged, defiant, or superior self-presentation type in contested encounters.
  • Aggressive passengers typically convey a defiant or superior self-presentation and shift between multiple types during the event.
  • The ticket inspectors' confinement of the passenger’s physical space is a key risk factor for victimization.
  • The ticket inspectors use emotional displays of dominance and sympathy strategically to avoid escalation and control the course of the event.
  • The ticket inspectors perform group-specific enforcement styles focused on either service or justice.