Exploring Geography Education Through Vexillology: Flag Design and the Concept of Place

General education (Gen Ed) courses, especially in geography, offer opportunities for students to explore new topics and perhaps discover new academic interests. Gen Ed courses allow instructors to find creative ways of helping students understand important concepts. This research, conducted in a Gen Ed world geography course, explores students’ understanding of the concept of place through flag design. Students were provided with a booklet in which they documented their flag design journey. The data from these booklets was coded to identify themes and analyzed using the qualitative methodology of arts-based research. Of the 40 students enrolled in the course, 27 provided consent and completed all parts of the booklet. The major themes that emerged from their flag designs and written reflections include hometown, attraction, culture, and natural landscapes. Students’ interpretation of the concept of place showed personal connections and collective knowledge embedded in a location’s physical landscapes, culture, and emotional symbols, showing that place is not just a location, but a lived and felt experience shaped by identity, memory, and meaning.