Raven: A Journal of Vexillology

Publications Homepage ~ Raven Homepage

RAVEN Volume 6 (1999) ISSN 1071-0043

Published by the North American Vexillological Association

Four articles continue RAVEN’s tradition of publishing outstanding scholarship in the field of flags.
This year’s effort spans topics ranging from Zebulon Pike to modern-day Singapore, from flag-burning to American civic heraldry.

 

 The Pike-Pawnee Flag Incident:
Reexamining a Vexillological Legend
Anne M. Platoff, M.S., M.A., instruction librarian, Arizona State University Libraries
The most famous flag incident in Kansas history may have actually occurred in Nebraska. The mythology surrounding Zebulon Pike’s 1806 encounter with the Republican Pawnee Indians yields to present-day historical analysis.

Majulah Singapura: National Day and Flag Culture in a Southeast Asian City-State
Scot M. Guenter, Ph.D., professor, San Jose State University, California
A year in Singapore as a Fulbright fellow provided the author the opportunity to observe flag use in a country whose national symbols reflect its unique politics, history, and culture. Many photographs illustrate reflections on the strategies Singapore uses to make the flag a centerpiece of civic pride.

The Revolutionary Communist Party and Flag Burning During its Forgotten Years, 1979-1989
Robert Justin Goldstein, Ph.D., professor, Oakland University, Rochester, Michigan
Filling in a little-known era between the author’s definitive books and articles on the U.S. flag desecration controversy, this article examines the role of the RCP in post-Viet Nam War flag-burning incidents culminating in the Supreme Court’s landmark Texas v. Johnson ruling.

American Perspectives in Heraldry and Vexillology
Whitney Smith, Ph.D., executive director, Flag Research Center, Winchester, Massachusetts
The world’s foremost vexillologist compares the sciences of heraldry and vexillology, through a review of civic symbolism in the United States and its manifestation on flags. He distinguishes it from European heraldry, and challenges heraldists to apply the same scientific principles as vexillology.