Your search

Оваа книга претставува докторска теза одбранета во јули 2018 година, на Универзитетот „Св. Кирил и Методиј“, Институт за национална историја. Комисијата за одбрана ја предводеше проф. д-р Тодор Чепеганов, проследено со менторот, проф. д-р Драгица Поповска, и членовите: проф. д-р Катерина Мирчевска, проф. д-р Билјана Ристовска-Јосифовска, проф. д-р Маја Ангеловска-Панова. Оваа книга ги истражува лавот и сонцето кои како симболи се појавуваат во материјалната и духовната култура во Македонија од памтивек, како и нивната употреба на знамиња и грбови поврзани со Македонија. Таа опфаќа два главни периода, периодот пред формирањето на македонската држава, до 1944 година и периодот до 2017 година. Темата е мултидисциплинарна, така што се земаат предвид етнолошките, историските, социјалните, социолошките, правните и политичките аспекти. Најнапред е дадена теоретската рамка за симболите и општеството, која опфаќа теоретски дел за семиотиката, грбот и знамето и нивната функција во општеството, како и процесот на избор на амблеми и примена на нивните грбови и знамиња. Исто така се воведени и принципите на хералдиката, вексилологијата. Понатаму е разгледан периодот до 1944 година, кој ги покрива сонцето и лавот како симболи во духовната и материјалната култура, како и во хералдиката и вексилологијата. Фокусот е на лавот во припишаните грбови и знамиња на Александар Велики во средновеков-на Европа и таканаречениот земски грб на Македонија во илирската хералдика, како и апликацијата на сонцето и лавот на знамињата за време на Националното движење во 19 век. По формирањето на македонската држава, во рамки на Југославија во 1944 година, се разгледани социо-политичкиот и културниот контекст на појавата на сонцето во државните симболи на СР Македонија, химната и грбот. Разгледана е и популаризацијата на лавот како симбол на Македонија и на сонцето и лавот како симболи што ги користи и македонската дијаспора. Во период по осамостојувањето 1991 година, се проучени социо-политичкиот контекст на изборот на симболите, и симболизацијата на политичките партии. Опфатен е парламентарниот процес за изборот на симболи на Република Македонија, вклучувајќи ги и предлозите за грб и знамето на државата. Тука се вклучени и симболите на сонцето и лавот на националното знаме и грбот во поединечни наративи, перцепции и емоции. На крај е разгледана современата македонска територијална хералдика и вексилологија и употребата на сонцето на грбовите и знамињата на општините во Република Македонија. Истражувањето вклучува анализа на изворите, описи и типизација на симболите и нивната категоризација. Ова книга, заедно со нејзиниот претходник, книгата „Симболите на Македонија“ ќе придонесе за збогатување на теоријата и практиката на македонската хералдика и вексилологија и поставување теоретска рамка за проучување на симболите како елементи на колективниот идентитет, што ќе станат државни симболи преку развојот на македонската државност. This book represents a doctoral thesis defended in July 2018, at the University of St. Cyril and Methodius, Institute of National History. The defense committee was led by Prof. Dr. Todor Chepeganov, followed by the mentor, Prof. Dr. Dragica Popovska, and the members: Prof. Dr. Katerina Mirchevska, Prof. Dr. Biljana RistovskaJosifovska, Prof. Dr. Maja Angelovska-Panova.This book explores the lion and the sun, which have appeared as symbols in the material and spiritual culture of Macedonia since time immemorial, as well as their use on flags and coats of arms associated with Macedonia. It covers two main periods, the period before the formation of the Macedonian state, until 1944, and the period until 2017. The topic is multidisciplinary, so that ethnological, historical, social, sociological, legal and political aspects are taken into account.First, the theoretical framework for symbols and society is given, which includes a theoretical section on semiotics, the coat of arms and the flag and their function in society, as well as the process of choosing emblems and applying them to their coats of arms and flags. The principles of heraldry and vexillology are also introduced. The period up to 1944 is further examined, covering the sun and the lion as symbols in spiritual and material culture, as well as in heraldry and vexillology. The focus is on the lion in the coats of arms attributed to Alexander the Great in medieval Europe and the so-called Land coat of arms of Macedonia in Illyrian heraldry, as well as the application of the sun and the lion on flags during the National Movement in the 19th century. After the formation of the Macedonian state, within Yugoslavia in 1944, the socio-political and cultural context of the appearance of the sun in the state symbols of the SR Macedonia, the anthem and the coat of arms, is examined. The popularization of the lion as a symbol of Macedonia and of the sun and the lion as symbols used by the Macedonian diaspora is also examined. In the period after independence in 1991, the socio-political context of the choice of symbols and the symbolization of political parties is studied. The parliamentary process for the selection of symbols of the Republic of Macedonia is covered, including the proposals for the coat of arms and the flag of the state. This includes the symbols of the sun and the lion on the national flag and coat of arms in individual narratives, perceptions and emotions. Finally, contemporary Macedonian territorial heraldry and vexillology and the use of the sun on the coats of arms and flags of municipalities in the Republic of Macedonia are examined. The research includes analysis of sources, descriptions and typification of symbols and their categorization. This book, together with its predecessor, the book "Symbols of Macedonia", will contribute to enriching the theory and practice of Macedonian heraldry and vexillology and setting a theoretical framework for the study of symbols as elements of collective identity, which will become state symbols through the development of Macedonian statehood.

This paper is a semiotics analysis of national symbols, especially national flags, seeking to insert its emergence in the context of the formation of the modern National States. The methodological approach is critical and interdisciplinary, capitalising on the contributions of Semiotics, History, Sociology and Philosophy. The flag of Brazil is analysed in a detailed manner, as a complex symbol, formed of shapes, colours, natural elements and words. From the historical point of view, the flag of Brazil is a symbol, which safeguards the past of the Brazilian Empire inside the symbol of the Republic of Brazil. From the semiotic point of view, one can see in the plan of expression a set of symbols, which allows us to realise the level of significance, there lying the dialectical conflicts of the history of Brazil. From the point of view of the current political scene, it seeks to analyse the new and main role played by the national flag, in its re-emergence among many demonstrations, and the rebirth of nationalism, within the context of economical, moral and political crises. This allows us to assess the meaning of Brazilian modernity and its future challenges.

When one examines current national anthems and flags, one finds a great deal of variety. What explains this variation? Possible factors include a nation's world-system position and its degree of modernization. Specifically, I analyze the ways in which world-system position and modernization affect the design or configuration—the syntactic structure—of the symbols national leaders adopt to convey their nation's identity. Findings reveal a link between a nation's world-system position and the structure of its symbols. Leaders of core nations adopt more basic anthems and flags than their semiperiphery and periphery counterparts. However, modernization has no such influence.

Conventionally, flags are explained as symbols of group solidarity that achieve force through ritual processes. Alternatively, flags may be seen as symbols with positive or negative associations derived from our experiences with physical space. While this article accepts these interpretations, it also argues that they need to be augmented. Flag meaning is not entirely a social or linguistic construction because there is a link between flag displays and our inherent predispositions to cues about social rank. Our evolved social intelligence makes us sensitive to the topographic features of flag displays that signal relationships of dominance and subordination.

Artefacts containing national or ethnic symbols, such as flags and maps, are frequently used by 14-year-old youth in a multiethnic, suburban municipality in Stockholm. Appearing as ornaments or trinkets to outsiders, to the initiated they are distinctive group markers displaying multiple political and ideological affiliations. As visual symbols these artefacts invoke communicative, but non-verbal, processes: they interpellate viewers who answer with their reactions. Thus these objects serve to both banally reproduce nationalism and ethnicity and to serve as identity markers. These identities are primarily inclusive and non-aggressive. The symbols do not seem to be a sign of resistance to mainstream Swedish society in line with much work in the field of youth culture. Instead, they are used as a proud, visual display of additional identities complementing a Swedish identity. Ethnicity research often covers linguistic markers or ethnic and national identities. In contrast, the area of youthconsumptionof nationalism, in the form of objects featuring national, ethnic and religious symbols, is as yet not well documented. Based on a year-long fieldwork in a junior high school, this paper documents ways in which minority group students handle material artefacts and what these symbols involved mean to them.

Сонцето и лавот како симболи се појавуваат во материјалната и духовната култура во Македонија од памтивек. Предмет на истражување во оваа теза се лавот и сонцето како симболи, со посебен осврт на нивната употреба на знамиња и грбови поврзани со Македонија. Истражувањето опфаќа два периода, периодот пред формирањето на Македонската држава, до 1944 година и периодот до денес. Темата е мултидисциплинарна, па затоа се земаат предвид етнолошки, историски, социјални, социолошки, правни и политички аспекти. Целта на истражувањето е да се опише и класифицира типологијата на атрибутите на сонцето и лавот и на тој начин да се провери нивниот континуитет до денес, како симболи за идентификација на територијата и колективот, изразени на грбови и знамиња. Лавот како симбол се среќава на грбовите и знамињата, главно од средниот век до почетокот на 20 век, поврзан со припишаниот грб на Александар Македонски. Сонцето како симбол се наоѓа на грбовите и знамињата во Македонија од почетокот на 20 век, главно како симбол на слободата и новиот свет (систем). The sun and the lion as symbols appear in the material and spiritual culture in Macedonia from time immemorial. The subject of research in this thesis is the lion and the sun as symbols, with particular reference to their use on flags and coat of arms connected to Macedonia. The research covers two periods, the period before the formation of the Macedonian state, until 1944 and the period until the present. The topic is multidisciplinary, so ethnological, historical, social, sociological, legal and political aspects are taken into account. The purpose of the research is to describe and classify the typology of the attributes of the sun and the lion and thus to check their continuity to date, as symbols for identification of territory and collective, expressed on coats of arms and flags. The lion as a symbol is found on the coats of arms and flags, mainly from the Middle Ages until the beginning of the 20th century, connected with the attributed coat of arms of Alexander the Great. The sun as a symbol is located on the coats of arms and flags in Macedonia from the beginning of the 20th century, mainly as a symbol of freedom and the new world (system).

Accounts of the relationship between flags and the law have focused on a narrow strain of contentions drawn from debates about political expression. This essay seeks to bridge the gap between cultural studies’ insight into nationalism and its symbolics, and the flag’s legal status, to better understand the unique position occupied by national flags. Flag ‘waving’ has become more prevalent in many liberal democracies. In such societies, flags occupy not a religious role, but a quiet and quotidian place in what Billig terms ‘banal nationalism’. As a cipher for the whole, a particular flag’s design is relatively unimportant; what lends it power is a mix of the gravity bestowed by its official designation and the easy commodification lent by a flag’s easy reproducibility and portability. Unlike other state symbols such as the currency, coat of arms and honorifics, the state does not seek to monopolise the flag’s use, let alone define its meaning. An analysis of the laws in several countries governing flag designation, observance and ‘desecration’ reveals that the law accords the flag distinct status yet only equivocal protection. While the state may crave its citizens’ fealty, a flag is not a symbol of some distant governmentality. Rather, it is gifted to ‘the people’ and relies for its relevance on its organic proliferation. As both object and image, people attribute a power to the flag – a power they recognise over themselves and others with whom they share a body politic. A key source of this fetishisation is its official, legal designation. Though it embodies no particular values, a flag is valued, even fetishised, by flag-wavers and flag-burners alike.

Part of a special issue entitled "The Science of Vexillology"

The object of this thesis is to demonstrate that non-verbal symbols, and in particular national flags, have an essential part in the establishment and management of national identity. It is contended that political legitimacy is derived in part from the national self-presentation and that this presentation can be managed by exploiting the full rangeof the national panoply, i.e., the full range of non-verbal symbols available. In terms of penetration and reciprocation as they form a discourse between the elite and the population flags and related items form a body of material that is easy to handle and to comprehend. But they are also capable of being charged with affective overtones which require care and skill in handling. Key concepts with regard to symbols as hitherto dealt with in social science will be derived from a number of authors who have dealt with the nature of identity and identity crises as part of the modernisation process applicable to nation states. These include Edelman and Pye and the contributors to the 'Crises and Sequences' school of political science. In addition the work of Mosse, Firth, Weitman, Zelinsky, Hobsbawm and Ranger, and other authors who have come closest to the subject under review, will also be examined for contributions in the form of concepts and analytical tools. Also to be examined is the work of modern professional image-makers operating in the commercial world to see what techniques and methods they can deploy successfully. The next stage will be to examine three major identity crises, as exemplified by the American, French and Russian Revolutions to see what efforts, if any, were made by the elite to control and shape their self-presentation and what reciprocation they evinced from their populations.

Depuis toujours, les sociétés humaines se déterminent et s’identifient au moyen de symboles. Les drapeaux sont aujourd’hui la forme la plus visible de cette identification. Les couleurs, les dessins qu’ils comportent nous apportent une lecture précieuse susceptible de nous éclairer sur le passé, le présent et le devenir des peuples. Les drapeaux nous offrent en même temps un précieux auxiliaire permettant de comprendre la direction de l’actualité mondiale. La fin de l’URSS en 1991 et la multiplication des drapeaux sur son territoire nous donne une parfaite illustration de cette perpétuelle quête humaine, à savoir son besoin de s’identifier et la justification de sa raison d'exister ici-bas. La preuve nous est en même temps donnée du caractère indispensable de la vexillologie dans la compréhension des sciences humaines. Human societies have always defined and identified themselves through symbols. Today, flags represent the most visible form of this identification. The colors and designs they feature offer valuable insights into the past, present, and future of peoples. At the same time, flags serve as a valuable tool for understanding the direction of global events. The collapse of the USSR in 1991 and the proliferation of flags across its former territory provide a perfect illustration of this perpetual human quest—namely, the need for identity and the justification of one's reason for existence. This also demonstrates the indispensable role of vexillology in understanding the human sciences.

If the study of politics is to warrant the denomination of political science, it must encompass within its scope any and all phenomena which may be legitimately be called political. Actors, institutions, behavior, conditions, and procedures must be identified and related to one another and their impact on the political process, great or small, must be demonstrated. To the extent that this has not been done, the task of the political scientist is incomplete. Those in the discipline aware of its shortcomings with regard to such catholicity have undertaken extensive new work in recent decades, as a result of which our knowledge of political behaviour has been immeasurably broadened. It would be a mistake, however, to believe that all possible avenues of research have now been opened. One aspect of politics long ignored--and even now only very imperfectly understood--is symbolism. The primary task of this work is to demonstrate that political symbolism is a valid subject and that its study is worthwhile.

A flag show that has a little fun. Twice-monthly chats with folks from all over the vexillology spectrum; from designers, to collectors, to secretaries of flag orgs around the world, enthusiasts of all stripes are welcome here!