{"id":1110,"date":"2014-05-08T08:26:30","date_gmt":"2014-05-08T12:26:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/?p=1110"},"modified":"2024-10-02T13:04:34","modified_gmt":"2024-10-02T17:04:34","slug":"vexillologist-loves-flags","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/vexillologist-loves-flags\/","title":{"rendered":"Vexillologist loves flags"},"content":{"rendered":"

Many people like flags, but some take their interest to the nth degree. Those people are called vexillologists, meaning those who study the history, lore and meaning of flags.<\/p>\n

\"Scot<\/a>
Scot Guenter<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

One such person is Scot Guenter, a professor of American Studies at San Jose State University.\u00a0He agreed to answer some questions about his fascination with flags.<\/p>\n

Q. When did you become interested in flags \u2013 and why?<\/b><\/p>\n

A.<\/b> Flags and stamps from around the world intrigued me even before I went to kindergarten. I became particularly interested in flags as a scholarly pursuit when, in graduate school, I was studying children\u2019s magazines of 19th<\/sup>-century America and discovered shifting significance and representation of the national banner. This led to a master\u2019s thesis on that topic, and that prodded me to broaden my doctoral work to a general analysis of the shifting meanings and uses of the flag in American society.<\/p>\n

\"Nepal's<\/a>
Nepal’s flag<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Q. What are your favorite flags \u2013 and why?<\/b><\/p>\n

A.<\/b> That\u2019s a tough question. For now, I\u2019ll say the American flag<\/a>, because I have spent so much of my life studying its meaning and uses; the flag of Nepal<\/a>, because it\u2019s so distinctive and I once organized a Nepal Day in my community and was given a treasured Nepali flag by the Nepalese friends I worked with; and the flag of the Land of Oz, because imaginary places can be very fun, too. I once used it in lieu of a personal flag at an event when personal flags were called for, and I didn\u2019t have one.<\/p>\n

Q. What are some reasons someone should consider joining a vexillology group?<\/b><\/p>\n

A.<\/b> Learning about flags is fun (just ask Sheldon from The Big Bang Theory<\/i> on CBS) and connects to such a wide range of other things to learn:\u00a0 art and design, history, politics, cultural geography, religion, law. Anyone is welcome to participate and contribute information, conduct research, and share it with others. Vexillological gatherings aren\u2019t stuffy; folks are easygoing, friendly, welcoming to all.<\/p>\n

\"Vexillology<\/a>
Vexillology Federation’s flag<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Vexillology is about the study of flags, but any vexillophile (lover of flags) can, within that big tent, find others who share his or her particular interest, such as military reenactment, flag design, flag collecting, or a subgroup, such as flags of the British Empire, city flags<\/a> or flags on stamps. You can become an authority in a special subarea even while learning about other areas you never considered.<\/p>\n

(For more about vexillology, go to www.nava.org.)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Many people like flags, but some take their interest to the nth degree. Those people are called vexillologists, meaning those who study the history, lore and meaning of flags. One such person is Scot Guenter, a professor of American Studies at San Jose State University.\u00a0He agreed to answer some questions about his fascination with flags…. continue<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[10,194],"class_list":["post-1110","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-history-lessons","tag-american-flag","tag-vexillology"],"yoast_head":"\nVexillologist loves flags - Gettysburg Flag Works Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/vexillologist-loves-flags\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Vexillologist loves flags - Gettysburg Flag Works Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Many people like flags, but some take their interest to the nth degree. 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