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Harlen Makemson, professor of communication design, published an article examining the work of renowned illustrator Charles Dana Gibson in the most recent edition of Journalism History, a scholarly journal published quarterly.

Makemson’s article, “” explores the work of arguably the most famous American illustrator of the early 20th century. Gibson was selected to lead the Division of Pictorial Publicity, part of the U.S. government’s Committee on Public Information (CPI), during World War I, but scant scholarly attention has been given to Gibson’s own art during the conflict. Makemson’s study analyzes Gibson’s illustrations that appeared in the humor-oriented magazine Life during World War I, investigating how the artist employed the female image to not only garner support for the war, but also define women’s responsibilities and limitations in time of war.

Makemson concludes that the artist’s most well-known creation – the Gibson Girl – had limited utility in convincing Americans that the battle in Europe was worth fighting. Instead, Gibson was more likely to use two female forms that had long ago become well-recognized American propaganda devices – the “Protecting Angel,” who assumed roles as nurses, aid workers, and, by extension, mothers of soldiers; and the “Amazon Warrior,” always attired in gowns, usually in large (if not colossal) scale, and most often bearing conceptual labels such as Freedom or Democracy.

Journalism History is published by the History Division of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC). The division conducts research into newspapers, broadcasting, photojournalism, advertising, and public relations. Members focus on the history of media relationships with the government and the history of journalism technology.

Since fall 2018, Makemson has overseen the publication of the ���ϲ����� Journal of Undergraduate Research in Communications, one of the nation’s only undergraduate research journals in mass communications.