Dear colleagues, This is to announce the Seventh Cologne Whaling Meeting Cologne, Germany 10 – 12 November 2006 The triennial Cologne Whaling Meetings are one of only two regular international conferences on the cultural history of human-cetacean relations, worldwide, from prehistoric times to the present day. In the past, they have attracted between 60 and 80 participants from up to a dozen countries. Friday evening starts with the traditional „greasy gossip“, a casual warm-up reunion in a Cologne pub, where you can meet old friends and make new ones from all over the whaling world. Saturday will feature an all-day conference programme of eight presentations, with coffee and lunch breaks in between. There will be a Saturday night dinner (at participants’ own expense), hopefully – as in previous years – followed by a concert of whaling-related music, which currently, though, is not yet scheduled (suggestions welcome). Sunday morning will be devoted to four more presentations. The conference will close around 1:30 PM. As usual, participants can expect to see a specially arranaged exhibition. Current plans aim at compiling a pioneering, ambitious exhibition on „Baleen in Art and Artifacts from Seven Centuries“. Presentations cover the entire range of human-cetacean relations, from mythology, literature, art, archaeology, music, law, technology of whale products and whaling methods, the history and maintenance of whaling collections and monuments, historical strandings, early cetology, whaling history, personal recollections of whaling veterans, to current whaling policy. Here is this year's program: Program Friday, 10 November 2006 18:00 Casual warm-up reunion of conference participants for „greasy gossip" at a Cologne pub, location to be disclosed to registered participants. Saturday, 11 November 2006 Conference venue to be disclosed to registered participants. 09:00 admission & registration 09:30 Klaus Barthelmess, Cologne: opening remarks 09:40 Dr. Uwe Schnall, formerly German Maritime Museum, Bremerhaven: Whale food, Vinland, Anno 1002: The literary tradition of the first whale recorded to have been eaten in the New World 10: 25 Ingvar Svanberg, University of Uppsala, Sweden: Troll whales in Scandinavian folklore and mythology 11:10 coffee break 11:25 Jorge Guzman-Gutierrez, PhD, visiting scholar, Scott Polar Research Institute, Cambridge, & ambassadorial secretary, Embassy of Chile in Oslo: Whales and whalers of the Southern Seas: Testimonies from cartography and travel accounts of the 16th and 17th centuries 12:10 Karin Gille-Linne, historian, & Sandra Juwig, architect, Hannoversch Münden, Germany: How did the narwhal get to Hannoversch Münden? Carvings in 17th-century half-timbering in the South of Lower Saxony,Germany 12:55 lunch break 14:00 Nicholas Redman, Worldwide whale bone inventory project, Teddington, England: The whale bone inventory project – progress report 14:45 Thierry du Pasquier, whaling historian, Paris: The changing uses of baleen in people’s daily lives 15:30 coffee break 15:45 Tony Dumitru, Nantucket Historical Association: Whaling and the spermaceti candle industry on Nantucket 16:30 Dr. Karen Oslund, German Historical Institute, Washington, DC: North Atlantic whaling: A case study for global whaling politics? 17:15 adjourn 19:30 dinner buffet at Cologne Restaurant, location to be disclosed. Sunday, 12 November 2006 location at previous day’s conference venue 09:30 conference venue opens 09:55 Klaus Barthelmess, Cologne: hangover remarks 10:00 Joost Schokkenbroek, Nederlands Scheepvaart Museum, Amsterdam: Too hot to handle? Dutch whaling and seal hunting in the Arctic during the nineteenth century 10:45 Susan Lebo, PhD, Bishop Museum, Honolulu, Hawaii: Nineteenth-century whaling trade with Pacific indigenous communities 11:30 coffee break 11:45 Jan-Erik Ringstad, Christensen’s Whaling Museum, Sandefjord, Norway: Sandefjord’s development into the world’s whaling capital 12:30 Elva Guðmundsdóttir, M.A. University of Iceland, & park ranger: Whale at three o’clock! Joy and disappointment in Icelandic whale-watching [supernumerary, in case a presenter drops out at short notice: Klaus Barthelmess, Cologne: Norwegian Whaling Association versus Olympic Whaling Company – a ploy in the CIA campaign against Onassis?] 13:15 Klaus Barthelmess: Closing remarks, adjourn till November 2009 Participation, however, is by personal invitation of the organizer only! Request your invitation by sending an application to participate, outlining your specific interest in whaling history, to barthval a-t t-online.de <edit if you are not a spammer>. No attachments! The organizer reserves the right to refuse participation. First-timers may be asked to pre-pay their conference fee upon successful registration by bank transfer or paypal. Others pay cash upon arrival. The participation fee will probably be in the range of 75 Euros, and will cover break snacks and beverages, as well as the conference pack including a souvenir. The dinner on Saturday is at participants’ own expense. Klaus Barthelmess Whaling Research Project Cologne, Germany barthval at t-online.de <edit if you are not a spammer>