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Oliver is joined by Chris Schimkowsky, PhD candidate at the University of Sheffield, where we will be discussing his research into the “manner posters” on the Tokyo rail network. Manner posters are public service adverts that can be found on trains and at stations across Japan which warn against “low-level deviance” such as wearing your backpack in an inconsiderate position or shaking your wet umbrella onto other passengers. While other scholars have framed this as a means of imposing social order, Chris argues that these posters are a form of customer service, focussing on improving everyone’s experience rather than penalising offenders.
Read more:‘Manner Posters: A Genre Approach’, in: Japanese Studies
‘Managing Passenger Etiquette in Tokyo: Between Social Control and Customer Service’, in: Mobilities
Image and audio credits
Intro-outro music: jasonszklarek / MotionElements.com
Images provided by Chris Schimkowsky.
Copyright © 2021 Oliver Moxham, ℗ 2021 Oliver Moxham. May be freely distributed in a classroom setting.
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