The research project Whales of Power has almost come to an end. At this final symposium at Klimahuset, we present some of the results of our research. We also raise some new questions and make suggestions for future research.
The symposium focuses on one of the project's main themes: changing relations between humans and marine mammals, in maritime East Asia and beyond. We have invited two leading scholars of Asian history and literature to give lectures on this topic: Tessa Morris-Suzuki, Professor Emerita of Japanese History at Australian National University, and Karen Thornber, Professor of East Asian Languages and Civilizations at Harvard University. Their lectures will be followed by a shared Q&A session.
In addition, we have invited a number of scholars, scientists, and artists who all work with whales to take part in a roundtable discussion on the past, present, and future of whale-human relations. Together, they will address questions such as: How have human-whale relations changed over time? How are these relations conceptualised, imagined, and enacted in different cultural and geographical contexts - in literature, art, religion, and science? How have humans and cetaceans affected each other's ways of living? What challenges do whales and other marine mammals face today, nearly four decades after the IWC moratorium, and how can we help them? Or: how do they help us?
The symposium is free and open for all. Registration is not required. The event will not be streamed or recorded.
Program:
13.30-13.45 Welcome
13.45-14.00 Whales of Power: An Overview. Aike P. Rots, University of Oslo.
14:00-15.30 Panel: Whale-Human Relations in History and Literature. Chair: Florence Durney, University of Oslo.
Lecture 1: Whales, Liquid Areas and Asia-Pacific Encounters in the Nineteenth Century. Tessa Morris-Suzuki, Australian National University.
Lecture 2: Thinking with Whales in Global Literature and Art. Karen Thornber, Harvard University.
Q&A
15.30-15.45 Break
15.45-16.45 Roundtable Discussion: Rethinking Whale-Human Relations: Past, Present, Future.
Chairs: Lene Liebe Delsett (University of Oslo) and Sonja Åman (University of Oslo).
Panelists: Jon Henrik Ziegler Remme (University of Bergen), Max Bridge (Brown University), Sadie Hale (University of Bergen), Sakura Koretsune (independent artist), Tessel Janse (Goldsmiths, University of London), and Youri van den Hurk (Natural History Museum Paris).