The movie is considered one of the best films ever made, but the man remains a mystery. A brilliant Oxford scholar, a skilled archeologist, a talented writer, and a master of guerilla warfare, T. E. Lawrence was also a tormented soul who eventually refused all honors, shunned his celebrity, and tried to lose himself in the lowest ranks of the military under an assumed name. In segments over the first four classes, we will watch the 1962 film Lawrence of Arabia, starring Peter O’Toole, and over the last two classes the 1992 film, A Dangerous Man: Lawrence After Arabia, starring Ralph Fiennes. Before and after each screening we will discuss Lawrence’s complicated life and his efforts to prevent the intractable Middle East conflicts that exist to this day.

Note: Katherine Kidd’s course Re-examining the British Empire will include one class on the British in the Middle East. Taking these two courses in tandem provides an opportunity to learn about the Middle East from two different disciplines.

Richard Matturro, a native of Rye, New York, holds a doctorate in English with a specialization in Shakespeare and Greek Mythology. After sixteen years at the Albany Times Union, he taught literature at UAlbany for fourteen years. He is the author of numerous newspaper articles and eight novels.