Bulletin 16 (May 2008)T. E. Lawrence Society Symposium

T. E. Lawrence Society Symposium to be held at St. John's College, Oxford, 26-28 September 2008

Saturday, 2.00-3.00

Dr Neil Faulkner: Trains, Trenches and Tents: The Archaeology of Lawrence of Arabia’s war.

At the 2004 Symposium, Matthew Hughes argued that the Arab revolt of 1916-1918 was militarily unimportant. This view is not supported by the evidence of the modern conflict archaeology in Southern Jordan. Two seasons of fieldwork have shown that the entire landscape was militarised, implying a huge investment of manpower and materiel by the Ottoman Empire to contain the Revolt. Neil Faulkner will argue that the effectiveness of guerrilla warfare cannot be measured using criteria applicable to conventional warfare in the way that Matthew Hughes tried to do. He will also demonstrate that the Arab Revolt had a profound strategic impact on the outcome of the campaign in Palestine and Syria during the First World War, and that it helped in the launch of Arab nationalism as a major force in modern global politics.

Although it is organised by the society everyone is welcome to attend. If people don't want to come for the whole symposium they can attend and pay for just the days/meals/accomodation they want. There is a flexible tariff of prices.

Please see links below:

Full Symposium programme

http://telsociety.org.uk/telsociety/symposia/2008oxf.htm

Prices and booking form

http://telsociety.org.uk/telsociety/symposia/booking.htm