BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam//NONSGML v1.0//EN NAME:Reading Group: End-of-Life & Religion #1 METHOD:PUBLISH BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART:20261008T124500 DTEND:20261008T140000 DTSTAMP:20261008T124500 UID:2026/reading-group-end-of-life@8F96275E-9F55-4B3F-A143-836282E12573 CREATED:20260815T135252 LOCATION: SUMMARY:Reading Group: End-of-Life & Religion #1 X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:

In our reading group at the library on ‘End-of-Life & Religion,’ co-organised by dr. Pie ter Coppens & dr. Jens Reinke, everyone’s academic and personal per spective on the topic is cordially invited. Together, through literat ure, film, articles & more, we’ll try to deepen our understanding o f how religion and the last phase of life are intertwined.

The topic 

It’s easy to resort to c lichés when it comes to death. Death is far away in much of everyday life, and at the same time it is everywhere. Death is universal and yet also highly particular: personal, cultural, contextual. So, death as a topic exists on these junctions of always present and push ed away; of applying to everyone but also manifesting itself in highl y specific ways. Connected to these junctions we find religion’s&nb sp;interactions with death. Where in many instances religion is pushe d to the fringes of society, death seemingly reinvites reli gion into the conversation, perhaps implying more junctions . It is from this broad sketch, that we enter the field&nbs p;as a reading group. As organisers, we hope people from a wide range of disciplines feel invited to join, from medical and behaviour al sciences to literature and philosophy. 

Sessio n build-up 

This first session centres on L eo Tolstoy’s The Death of Ivan Ilyich. For a rudiment ary introduction to this reading material, you can scroll down t o the book cover. Prof. dr. Dirk-Martin Grube will offer an introduct ion to the novella and its relation to our topic. Co-organi ser Marc Lamain will guide the ensuing conversation. The schedul e is as follows: 

12:45 p.m. wa lk-in (at the University Library, HG-01A01) 
12: 55 p.m. opening: the organisers introduce the  ;reading group, its topic and some guidelines 
1 :00 p.m. introduction: prof. dr. Dirk-Martin Grube introduces The Death of Ivan Ilyich by Leo T olstoy 
1:25 p.m. window to leave  (for anyone with other commitments after the lunch break) < br>1:30 p.m. open conversation < br>1:55 p.m. summarising and wrap-up 
< strong>2:00 p.m. closing 

Read ing group build-up 

During three initi al sessions we’ll enter this wide the matic field together. We’ve purposefully selected li ght and elementary material for these three sessions, so we can ease into the topic together. Once we’ve l aid this foundation, subsequent sessions can have  ;a more refined angle and more complex material. You’re f ree to join us for any of the sessions that speak to you; but do encourage you to join us all along the way.  

The&nb sp;initial sessions are built up as follows: 

At the end of 2026 subsequent sessions will be announced.  ;

The organisers 

This reading gr oup is co-organised by the University Library and researchers dr . Pi eter Coppens & dr. Jens Reinke. Coppens is associ ate professor of Islamic intellectual and cultural history. His  research project The Art of Dying in Islamic Traditions (600 –1800) focuses on the relationship between the death bed in premodern Islam. Reinke is assistant professor& nbsp;of Buddhist studies. His research on contemporary Mahaya Bu ddhism in a global perspective has recently started branching into th e last of phase of life in Buddhism. 

As part of the University Library, programme maker Marc Lamain co-organises thi s reading group. If you want to know more about reading groups a t the library, the dedicat ed webpage should be of service to you. 

DESCRIPTION:

The topic 

It’s eas y to resort to clichés when it comes to death. Death is far away in much of everyday life, and at the same time it is everywhere. Death i s universal and yet also highly particular: personal, cultural,  contextual. So, death as a topic exists on these junctions of always present and pushed away; of applying to everyone but also manifesting itself in highly specific ways. Connected to these junctions we find religion’s interactions with death. Where in many instances r eligion is pushed to the fringes of society, death seemingly rei nvites religion into the conversation, perhaps implying&nbs p;more junctions. It is from this broad sketch, that we ent er the field as a reading group. As organisers, we hope peo ple from a wide range of disciplines feel invited to join, from medic al and behavioural sciences to literature and philosophy. 

< strong>Session build-up 

This first session c entres on Leo Tolstoy’s The Death of Ivan Ilyich. For a rudimentary introduction to this reading material, you can sc roll down to the book cover. Prof. dr. Dirk-Martin Grube will offer a n introduction to the novella and its relation to our topic.&nbs p;Co-organiser Marc Lamain will guide the ensuing conversation.  The schedule is as follows:  12:45 p.m.&nb sp;walk-in (at the University Library, HG-01A01) 
12:55 p.m. opening: the organisers introduce the  reading group, its topic and some guidelines 
1:00 p.m. introduction: prof. dr. Dirk-Ma rtin Grube introduces The Death of Ivan Ilyich by Leo Tolstoy 
1:25 p.m. window to leave& nbsp;(for anyone with other commitments after the lunch break)&n bsp;
1:30 p.m. open conversation&n bsp;
1:55 p.m. summarising and wrap-up 
2:00 p.m. closing 

Re ading group build-up 

During three initi al sessions we’ll enter this wide the matic field together. We’ve purposefully selected li ght and elementary material for these three sessions, so we can ease into the topic together. Once we’ve l aid this foundation, subsequent sessions can have  ;a more refined angle and more complex material. You’re f ree to join us for any of the sessions that speak to you; but do encourage you to join us all along the way.   The ini tial sessions are built up as follows: 
  • Session 1 , discussing Leo Tolstoy’s The Death of Ivan Ilyich with an introduction by prof. dr. Dirk-Martin&n bsp;Grube on 8 October 2026, 12:45 till 2:00 p.m. 
  • Session 2, discussing Simone de Beauvoir’s A Very Easy Death with an i ntroduction by dr. Annemie Halsema on  ;12 November 2026, 12:45 till 2:00 p.m. 
  • Session 3, watching Essay Liu’s & Yu-Lin Wang’s  Seven Days in Heaven with an introduction by  dr. Jens Reinke on 10 Decemb er 2026, 12:45 till 3:30 p.m. 
At the end of 2026 subsequent sessions will be announced. 

The organisers 

This reading group is co-organi sed by the University Library and researchers dr. Pieter Coppens  & dr. Jens Reinke. Coppens is associate professor of Islamic intellectual and cultural history. His research project  The Art of Dying in Islamic Traditions (600–1800) focuses on the relationship between the deathbed in  ;premodern Islam. Reinke is assistant professor of Buddhist studies. His research on contemporary Mahaya Buddhism in a glob al perspective has recently started branching into the last of p hase of life in Buddhism.  As part of the University Library, pr ogramme maker Marc Lamain co-organises this reading group.  If you want to know more about reading groups at the library, the dedicated webpage sh ould be of service to you.  In our reading group at the library on ‘End-of-Life & Religion,’ co-organised by dr. Pieter Coppens & dr. Jens Reinke, everyone’s academic and personal perspective on t he topic is cordially invited. Together, through literature, film, ar ticles & more, we’ll try to deepen our understanding of how religio n and the last phase of life are intertwined. END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR