The Flag Heritage Foundation mourns the passing of our Trustee, Professor Scot M. Guenter (1956-2026). He was a professor emeritus of American Studies at San José State University, where he served as coordinator of the American Studies Program and director of the Campus Reading Program.
“Keep studying those flags!” These are the words that we heard from Scot whenever he gave a lecture to a group of assembled vexillologists. It wasn’t just a catch phrase, but rather a reminder of the core task for any serious flag scholar. Scot understood that flags are a product of human culture and that there was much that could be learned by studying them.
The list of Scot’s contributions in our field is substantial. He served as the 11th president of the North American Vexillological Association (NAVA), as a Trustee of the Flag Heritage Foundation, and as Director and Whitney Smith Principal Research Scholar for the Flag Research Center. His scholarship was highly respected earning him multiple accolades. To date, he is the only three-time winner of NAVA’s Driver Award for the best paper presented at a meeting and he was honored with a lifetime membership in the organization. He was named both a Fellow and a Laureate of the Fédération internationale des associations vexillologiques (FIAV). He was also a Fellow of the Vexillological Association of the State of Texas (VAST) and a Whitney Smith Fellow (WSF).
Scot’s research was focused on the American flag as a cultural phenomenon, but he also explored cross-cultural studies of symbols of all kinds. He was particularly interested in the study of civil religion – the examination of the symbols, rituals, and myths that are central to a country’s culture of patriotism. Whether he was discussing flag clothing and tattoos, flag houses, or social conflicts over who has the right to use the national flag and define its meaning, he challenged us to constantly reexamine the role of flags in national identity and culture. His book, The American Flag, 1777-1924: Cultural Shifts From Creation to Codification, traced the changing status of the flag in American culture and showed how the “cult of the flag” was developed and propagated by various patriotic organizations and entities. His numerous articles on the US flag and on flags as a cultural phenomenon continued this study and revealed the ever-expanding influence of the flag as an icon of American identity.
One of his most significant achievements, in terms of promoting the scholarly study of flags and symbols, was the founding of NAVA’s peer-reviewed journal – Raven: A Journal of Vexillology. In his introductory essay for the first volume, Scot explained:
For some people the line between flag-waving and flag-studying, between emotional identification and intellectual inquiry, can become a blur. True vexillologists must be aware of the power and process of patriotism and nationalism, but they will constantly remind themselves these are cultural phenomena that we are analyzing, not preaching. Reflexive awareness of one’s own enculturation is important for all who will engage in this discipline.
Over thirty years later, the journal continues to publish leading scholarship in the field, fulfilling Scot’s hopes that “this publication shall become a lasting and important source to which readers can turn to find internationally respected articles in vexillology.”
We will remember Scot as a dear friend, an observer of popular culture, and an outstanding flag scholar. He showed us many paths to examine the cultural phenomenon of patriotic symbols to see what can be learned. And he always challenged us to “Keep studying those flags”.
Scot Guenter (1956-2026)
The Flag Heritage Foundation mourns the passing of our Trustee, Professor Scot M. Guenter (1956-2026). He was a professor emeritus of American Studies at San José State University, where he served as coordinator of the American Studies Program and director of the Campus Reading Program.
“Keep studying those flags!” These are the words that we heard from Scot whenever he gave a lecture to a group of assembled vexillologists. It wasn’t just a catch phrase, but rather a reminder of the core task for any serious flag scholar. Scot understood that flags are a product of human culture and that there was much that could be learned by studying them.
The list of Scot’s contributions in our field is substantial. He served as the 11th president of the North American Vexillological Association (NAVA), as a Trustee of the Flag Heritage Foundation, and as Director and Whitney Smith Principal Research Scholar for the Flag Research Center. His scholarship was highly respected earning him multiple accolades. To date, he is the only three-time winner of NAVA’s Driver Award for the best paper presented at a meeting and he was honored with a lifetime membership in the organization. He was named both a Fellow and a Laureate of the Fédération internationale des associations vexillologiques (FIAV). He was also a Fellow of the Vexillological Association of the State of Texas (VAST) and a Whitney Smith Fellow (WSF).
Scot’s research was focused on the American flag as a cultural phenomenon, but he also explored cross-cultural studies of symbols of all kinds. He was particularly interested in the study of civil religion – the examination of the symbols, rituals, and myths that are central to a country’s culture of patriotism. Whether he was discussing flag clothing and tattoos, flag houses, or social conflicts over who has the right to use the national flag and define its meaning, he challenged us to constantly reexamine the role of flags in national identity and culture. His book, The American Flag, 1777-1924: Cultural Shifts From Creation to Codification, traced the changing status of the flag in American culture and showed how the “cult of the flag” was developed and propagated by various patriotic organizations and entities. His numerous articles on the US flag and on flags as a cultural phenomenon continued this study and revealed the ever-expanding influence of the flag as an icon of American identity.
One of his most significant achievements, in terms of promoting the scholarly study of flags and symbols, was the founding of NAVA’s peer-reviewed journal – Raven: A Journal of Vexillology. In his introductory essay for the first volume, Scot explained:
For some people the line between flag-waving and flag-studying, between emotional identification and intellectual inquiry, can become a blur. True vexillologists must be aware of the power and process of patriotism and nationalism, but they will constantly remind themselves these are cultural phenomena that we are analyzing, not preaching. Reflexive awareness of one’s own enculturation is important for all who will engage in this discipline.
Over thirty years later, the journal continues to publish leading scholarship in the field, fulfilling Scot’s hopes that “this publication shall become a lasting and important source to which readers can turn to find internationally respected articles in vexillology.”
We will remember Scot as a dear friend, an observer of popular culture, and an outstanding flag scholar. He showed us many paths to examine the cultural phenomenon of patriotic symbols to see what can be learned. And he always challenged us to “Keep studying those flags”.