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Flags have been around for centuries; however, vexillology, the study of flags, was not officially coined until the 1960s. Despite this, there is still a need for more scientific and empirical research. Using qualitative arts-based research (ABR) methodology, this study investigates the creative journey of students in an undergraduate geography course as they design a flag for a place of their choosing. Students were asked to interpret the concept of ‘place’ through their flag designs while also incorporating flag design principles. The results showed that participants selected places tied to themes such as hometown, family, love, memories, and culture often reflecting on their personal histories and narratives. Their flag designs incorporated symbols representing aspects of the selected location such as nature, culture, economy, history, and national elements. Overall, the participants viewed the concept of ‘place’ as an emotional construct that is shaped by important memories and life changing moments. Through their designs, the participants explored the concept of place as more than just a physical location. ‘Place’ was a space filled with emotions and personal
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In the mid-twentieth century scholars in the United States began to examine American society through the lens of civil religion, a term first coined by Jean-Jacques Rousseau in the eighteenth century. Although much of the discussion focused on civil religion in the US, other scholars began to recognise that a civil religion also existed in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. While American civil religion developed organically within all strata of society, it can be argued that in the Soviet Union there was a deliberate strategy to use civil religion as a tool to replace established religion, and to create a single sense of Soviet identity among a geographically-dispersed and ethnically-diverse population. Most studies on Soviet civil religion have focused on communist rites and rituals, and the ‘cult’ of Lenin. Few scholars have examined the elaborate system of symbols that were essential to reinforcing Soviet civil religion so that it became an everyday aspect of life in the USSR. This thesis seeks to fill that gap by examining the simvolika, or set of symbols, of the Soviet Union. While the official state symbols included the Soviet flag, state emblem, and national anthem, the set of symbols that were vital to the practice of Soviet civil religion was much more extensive. This study will examine the usage of an array of flags, seals, symbolic elements, imagery, and motifs that were essential to the socialisation of children and the reinforcement of Soviet civil religion in adulthood. Finally, it will examine the symbolic legacies of the USSR in the countries that were once part of the Soviet Union.
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In under a century of existence, the Republic of Iraq has adopted seven national flags. The circumstances of these modifications occurred under times of tremendous political transformation following wars and military coups. The evolution of Iraqi vexillology often corresponded to sub-national violence and direct challenges to state authority. This thesis considers Iraqi identity through the lens of its national flags and iconography from 1921 to 2017. It argues that Iraqi flags and iconography constitute an archive revealing a national identity organized around an emphasis on ethnicity and transhistorical relationships.
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- Arab flags (1)
- banal nationalism (1)
- civil religion (1)
- communist symbols (1)
- flag design (1)
- flags and children (1)
- flags and emotions (1)
- flags and identity (1)
- flags and sense of place (1)
- geography education (1)
- hammer and sickle (1)
- Hashemites (1)
- heraldry (1)
- Iraq (1)
- Iraqi flags (1)
- Iraqi heraldry (1)
- Middle Eastern history (1)
- national identity (1)
- national symbols (1)
- place as a concept (1)
- political socialisation (1)
- political socialization (1)
- propaganda (1)
- red star (1)
- Saddam Hussein (1)
- Soviet flag (1)
- Soviet identity (1)
- Soviet symbols (1)
- Soviet Union (1)
- symbols and meaning (1)
- symbols as communication (1)
- Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) (1)
- vexillography (1)
- vexillology (1)