Dr Rikke Amundsen

Rikke joined the Department of Digital Humanities in December 2021. Before this, Rikke worked as an Associate Lecturer in Social Media and Society at the University of York and at the University of Cambridge, where she was both a Teaching Associate in the Department of Sociology and a Research Associate at the Trust and Technology Initiative (TTI). At the TTI, Rikke contributed to Mapping Trust and Technology, a project that explores how the concept of ‘trust’ is imagined, used, and approached in technology research.

Rikke’s research is also concerned with the sexual politics of digital cultures, and with the increasing mediatisation of intimacy. Her PhD - entitled “Sexting as Intimacy Work: Exploring the Impact of Mediation on Intimacy” - was completed in 2019 and has so far resulted in journal articles and book chapters on the dynamics of risk, trust, and intimacy in the digital exchange of private sexual imagery.

Research interests and PhD supervision

• Digital Risk
• Trust and Technology
• Mediated Intimacy
• Feminist Media Studies
• Digital Sociology

Rikke’s research is concerned with the influence of digital mediation on interpersonal relations and, more specifically, on practices and perceptions of intimacy. Her research generally explores these issues in relation to gender, sexuality, power, and visual culture. Rikke’s research on the dynamics of risk and trust in digitally mediated intimacy has also led to the development of a particular research interest in the relations between risk, trust, and technology.

Selected publications

Amundsen, R. 2023. "The turn to trust: adult women, hetero-sexting, and the use of trust as sexting risk mitigation". Feminist Media Studies: DOI: 10.1080/14680777.2023.2197569

Amundsen, R., 2023. “Interviewing with Intimacy”. In: I. Crowhurst, L. Hawkins and R. Ryan-Flood, eds. 2023. Difficult Conversations. London: Routledge

Amundsen, R. 2020. “Hetero-Sexting as Mediated Intimacy Work: ’Putting Something on the Line’”. New Media and Society. 0 (0), pp.1-16. DOI: 1177/1461444820962452.

Amundsen, R., 2020. “’A Male Dominance Kind of Vibe’: Approaching Unsolicited Dick Pics as Sexism”. New Media and Society.0 (0), pp.1-16. DOI: 1177/1461444820907025.

Amundsen, R., 2019. “Kind of Like Making Porn of Yourself”: Understanding Sexting Through Pornography. Feminist Media Studies, 19 (4), pp.479-494. DOI: 1080/14680777.2018.1494617.

Amundsen, R., 2019. “The Price of Admission”: On Notions of Risk and Responsibility in Women’s Sexting Practices. In: K. Lumsden and E. Harmer, eds. 2019. Online Othering: Exploring Digital Violence and Discrimination on the Web. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, pp.145-164. DOI: 1007/978-3-030-12633-9.

Amundsen, R., 2019. Cruel Intentions and Social Conventions: Locating the Shame in Revenge Porn. In: D. Ging and E. Siapera, eds. 2019. Gender Hate Online: Understanding the New Anti-Feminism. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, pp.131-149. DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-96226-9.

Teaching

Rikke’s teaching activities focus on a variety of issues related to digital culture and society, including the influence of digital mediation on interpersonal connections and communication.