Raven is a scholarly journal published yearly by the North American Vexillological Association (NAVA). The 26th volume will be out this month.
From time to time, Raven includes a bibliography of flag-related items that have appeared in other, non-flag-specific journals. These span a wide range of disciplines, from political science to art history.
For Raven 26, Scott Mainwaring and Steven Knowlton searched a number of online databases to find a total of 112 different items published between 2017 and 2019. Much of this work, perhaps not surprisingly given current events, focused on the Confederate flag and its changing meanings and controversies. Another major topic turned out to be the psychology of flags, for example how exposure to particular flags changed perceptions and attitudes. But most of the 112 items fell outside of these two categories, covering an amazing range of topics from a diverse vantage points.
NAVA members will be receiving their copies of Raven 26 this month (and will have exclusive online access to it for the next year). But the bibliography is being freely published online as a resource both to inspire and advance research by self-identified vexillologists, as well as to increase the visibility of vexillology to researchers across the many disciplines represented. Due to space limitations, the print bibliography does not include summaries or abstracts, but these are included for the great majority of items in the online version.
In advance of its publication by NAVA, the PFA is happy to make this bibliography available now as a PDF document, or as a webpage.
Anyone interested in flags is sure to find one or more articles of interest, and to gain a greater appreciation of the breadth and depth of flag studies.
Portland Flag Association 