REVIEW
scientific supervisor for the Master thesis "Public media space as an interface for the group identity of young people" Dedukh Gleb Valerievich, direction 39.04.01 "Sociology", the main educational program of the master's program VM.5589.2020 "Sociology", learning trajectory: "Modern research methods and sociological theories"


The Master thesis “Public Media Space as an Interface for the Group Identity of Youth” by Gleb Valeryevich Dedukh is devoted to an acutely relevant topic - a sociological study of media practices, individual and group identities of the popular Russian youth subculture k-pop communities. In the introduction to the Master Thesis, G.V. Dedukh very clearly presented the relevance of his research, pointing out the low level of knowledge of youth subcultural movements that began their formation in Russian society in the 2000s. And among these movements, the youth communities belonging to the so-called "Korean Wave". An analysis of Russian sociological publications on such communities shows that the “Korean wave” attracted the attention of sociologists mainly from topics of cinema, music, and serial dramas. Sociological research of youth Russian-speaking k-pop communities, their practices of identity construction has received no attention. So, GV Dedukh's master's thesis is a unique study aimed at analyzing a significant sector of Russian society.
It should be emphasized that G.V. Dedukh set a very difficult goal in his study - to study this popular sector of youth culture through the lins of the processes of digitalization and mediatization of Russian society. The solution to this complex research problem required significant theoretical and methodological research. G.V. Dedukh presented in his Thesis the classical and modern approaches to the sociological study of youth subcultures, analyzed modern sociological concepts of mediatization, made pilotage and subsequent detailed empirical study of specific Russian-speaking cases of k-pop communities. It should be also stressed that G.V. Dedukh used as a frame for his analysis the concept of "cultural scenes" and substantiated its advantages for the object under study. The choice of the concept of mediatization by Stig Hjarvard also seems to be very successful, since it allows us to identify and analyze how modern media are embedded in the construction of the identity of new youth subcultures. The field research conducted by G.V. Dedukh also demonstrates the professional possession of the skills of a sociologist's field work - the selection of methods, conducting interviews, observations, and documents analysis. The results achieved and represented in the text are at large extent correlating with the overall academic requirements.
During the entire period of the master's program, G.V. Dedukh invariably demonstrated deep involvement in the academic educational process, carefully attended all classes according to the curriculum, having highly positive marks for the academic disciplines passed on time. As a supervisor, I can confidently state the devotion to studies and the high research motivation of G.V. Dedukh, independence in the creation and implementation of the WRC project.
Summarizing the above, we can confidently state that the Master thesis “Public media space as an interface for the group identity of young people” by Dedukh Gleb Valerievich is s a creative and responsible work, the goal and objectives set in the work have been solved. The results of the Master thesis by G.V. Dedukh are characterized by originality, and it brings new knowledge. All this allows you to apply for an "excellent" (“A”) rating.

Doctor in Sociology, Professor
Chair Theory, history and
Methodology of Socioily,
Saint-Petersburg State University                                              Elena A. Ostrovskaya