Different symbols of
historical events, groups, political parties, etc. can never avoid the
ever-changing interpretations of scientists, researchers, teachers, students,
or any individuals in any period in the past, present, or in the future.
For example, if we think of the swastika, everybody has a picture in their
mind, mostly related to the horrific happenings during WWII, the Nazis, the
death camps, suffering and dying Jewish people. However, the usage of this
symbol originates from the ancient times, from India and its meaning is ‘to be
good’. When Hitler came to power in 1933, he had done thorough research on
several symbols, and he had found the swastika in a Buddhist book and had chosen
it for his evolving party.
What I am going to analyze in this semester is how one symbol can be agitating,
unifying, offending at the same time during different periods. The origin also
has to be taken into consideration, the meaning of the symbol both for the
inventors and for the opponents, the interpretations of the symbol in the aftermath
decades, centuries.
My subject is the so called Confederate Flag, the battle flag of the
Confederate States of America during the Civil War. It carries several different
connotations for today’s men and its status as a symbol have also evoked
various feelings during the 19th and 20th centuries too.
