The sixth publication in The Flag Heritage Foundation Monograph and Translation Series, titled Vexillology as a Social Science, was issued in April. It is the English adaptation of the major part of the doctoral thesis by Željko Heimer, defended at the Postgraduate Doctoral Studies of Sociology at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Studies of the University of Zagreb in 2013, under the mentorship of Prof. Ozren Žunec.
The author’s English translation was extensively edited and adapted for American and worldwide audiences by Edward (Ted) B. Kaye, longtime editor (1996–2012) of the North American Vexillological Association (NAVA)’s scientific periodical Raven: A Journal of Vexillology and the current editor (since 2011) of the Portland Flag Association (PFA)’s vexillological bulletin Vexilloid Tabloid, whom we know well as the editor of our English texts in GiZ.
The Flag Heritage Foundation (FHF) was founded in 1971 in order, among other purposes, “to collect, organize, and disseminate information concerning all aspects of flags and related symbols” and “to promote wide public knowledge of the rich history of flags which fosters international understanding and respect for national heritage.” The Foundation often organized flag exhibitions and other public manifestations to promote vexillological science. Among the current activities, the Foundation runs a program on helping to preserve existing collections when their owners die. The Foundation has a cataloguing support program and owns a considerable collection of American flags. Among its activities is issuing translations of the significant scholarly monographs previously appearing only in languages inaccessible to most scholars.
These titles have been published in the series so far: The Estonian Flag: A Hundred Years of the Blue-Black-White by Karl Aun, 2010; Emblems of the Indian States by David F. Phillips, 2011; History of the Haitian Flag of Independence by Odette Roy Fombrun, 2013; The Double Eagle by David F. Phillips, 2014; and Flags and Emblems of Colombia by Pedro Julio Dousdebés, 2016.
Following its goals, the Foundation distributes its publications widely, often gratis to libraries and heraldic-vexillological associations. Therefore the majority of the 500 copies of this translation went to libraries and institutions world-wide, while a copy was provided for each delegate to the 25th International Congress of Vexillology, to be held in August this year in London. A small quantity is available from the author, also with possible significant benefits for the HGZD members and the GiZ readers.
The monograph presents an introduction into deliberations on the position of the vexillological discipline in science; after providing a brief overview of vexillology’s development, it analyzes principles of and critiques directed at this science. Finally, it proposes the division between pure and applied vexillology and its placement within the social sciences, first of all its relationship to sociology.
When preparing the translation, the author and the editor prepared an extended version of the dissertation, also containing chapters on military unit flags in general and those used in Croatia’s history and especially during the 1991–1995 Croatian War of Independence. The entire text and more than 200 color illustrations were beyond the resources and goals of the Foundation, and could not have been included in this publication. However, for interested readers, the expanded text is available as a print-on-demand book by HGZD entitled Exploring Vexillology through Military Unit Flags, see more here.
Vexillology as a Social Science
Author: Željko Heimer
Editor: Edward B. Kaye
ISBN: 978-1-4507-2432-0
Nr of pages: 72
Bbinding: paperback
Size: 21,5 cm × 28 cm (8.5″×11″)
Pprice: 15USD/14EUR (~100 kn)
Shipping may vary.
http://www.flagheritagefoundation.org/fhf-publications/vexillology-social-science/
CIGH