What If Arthur Szyk Had Been Born 100 Years Later?

The famous Polish-Jewish-American artist Arthur Szyk is experiencing something of a renaissance these days.  Witness the important exhibit currently on view at Fairfield University's Thomas J. Walsh Gallery of Art, In Real Times. Arthur Szyk: Artist and Soldier for Human Rights.

On October 5th, an important symposium was held in conjunction with the exhibit, in which the following speakers presented:

• Jonathan Petropoulos, PhD, John V. Croul, Professor of European History, Claremont McKenna College
• Wendy Lower, PhD, the Director of the Mgrublian Center for Human Rights and the John K. Roth Professor of History & George R. Roberts Fellow at Claremont McKenna College
• Glenn Dynner, PhD, Director, Bennett Center for Judaic Studies, Carl and Dorothy Bennett Professor of Judaic Studies, Fairfield University
• Ori Z. Soltes, PhD, Teaching Professor, Center for Jewish Civilization, Georgetown University
• Francesco Spagnolo, PhD, Curator, The Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life, Associate Adjunct Professor, Dept. of Music and Center for Jewish Studies UC Berkeley
• Ellen M. Umansky, PhD, Professor Emerita of Judaic Studies, Fairfield University
• Samuel Gruber, PhD, President, International Survey of Jewish Monuments; Part-time faculty in Jewish Studies and History of Art, Syracuse University

I myself delivered a talk that took a counterfactual approach to Szyk's life.  Entitled "Born Late: A Soldier in Memes," the talk imagined how Szyk would have expressed his commitment to social justice had been born in 1994 instead of 1894.

For a video recording of the talk, please click HERE and see how I wondered "what if?"