BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam//NONSGML v1.0//EN NAME:Reading Group: End-of-Life & Religion #2 METHOD:PUBLISH BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART:20261112T124500 DTEND:20261112T140000 DTSTAMP:20261112T124500 UID:2026/reading-group-end-of-life@8F96275E-9F55-4B3F-A143-836282E12573 CREATED:20260815T135123 LOCATION: SUMMARY:Reading Group: End-of-Life & Religion #2 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 second session centres on Simon e de Beauvoir’s A Very Easy Death. For a rudimentary intro duction to this reading material, you can scroll down to the book cov er. Dr. Annemie Halsema will offer an introduction to De Beauvoir’s work on aging (in particular The Coming of Age) and gradual changes in her notion of aging, partly in relation to A Very Eas y Death. Co-organiser Marc Lamain will guide the ensuing convers ation. The schedule is as follows: 

12:45&nbs p;p.m. walk-in (at the University Library, HG-01A0 1) 
12:55 p.m. opening: the organi sers introduce the reading group, its topic and some guidel ines 
1:00 p.m. introduction: dr. Annemie Ha lsema introduces Simone de Beauvoir’s work on aging
1:25 p.m. window to leave (for anyone with other commitments aft er the lunch break)
1:30 p.m. open conversation1:55 p.m. summarising and wrap-up
2:00 p.m. closing

Reading group build-up 

During three initial sessions we’l l enter this wide thematic field togeth er. We’ve purposefully selected light and elementary material for these three sessions, so we can ease into the topi c together. Once we’ve laid this foundation, su bsequent sessions can have a more refined angle and mo re complex material. You’re free to join us for any of the sessions that speak to you; but do encourage you to join us al l along the way.  

The initial sessions are built up as follows: 

At the end of 2026 subsequ ent sessions will be announced. 

The organis ers 

This reading group is co-organised by the U niversity Library and researchers dr. Pieter Coppens && nbsp;dr. Jens Reinke. Coppens is associate professor of Islamic int ellectual and cultural history. His research project Th e Art of Dying in Islamic Traditions (600–1800) focuses o n the relationship between the deathbed in premodern I slam. Reinke is assistant professor of Buddhist studies.&nb sp;His research on contemporary Mahaya Buddhism in a global perspecti ve has recently started branching into the last of phase of life in Buddhism. 

As part of the University Library, programm e maker Marc Lamain co-organises this reading group. If you want to know more about reading groups at the library, the dedicated webpage should b e 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 second session centr es on Simone de Beauvoir’s A Very Easy Death. For a rudime ntary introduction to this reading material, you can scroll down to t he book cover. Dr. Annemie Halsema will offer an introduction to De B eauvoir’s work on aging (in particular The Coming of Age) and gradual changes in her notion of aging, partly in relation to A Very Easy Death. Co-organiser Marc Lamain will guide the ensu ing conversation. The schedule is as follows:  12:4 5 p.m. walk-in (at the University Library, HG -01A01) 
12:55 p.m. opening: the o rganisers introduce the reading group, its topic and some g uidelines 
1:00 p.m. introduction: dr. Annem ie Halsema introduces Simone de Beauvoir’s work on aging
1:25 p.m. window to leave (for anyone with other commitment s after the lunch break)
1:30 p.m. open conversat ion
1:55 p.m. summarising and wrap-up
2:00 p.m. closing

Reading group build-up 

During three initial sessions we’l l enter this wide thematic field togeth er. We’ve purposefully selected light and elementary material for these three sessions, so we can ease into the topi c together. Once we’ve laid this foundation, su bsequent sessions can have a more refined angle and mo re complex material. You’re free to join us for any of the sessions that speak to you; but do encourage you to join us al l along the way.   The initial sessions are built up as follows:  At the end of 2026 subsequent se ssions will be announced. 

The organisers&n bsp;

This reading group is co-organised by the University Librar y and researchers dr. Pieter Coppens & dr. Jens Reinke. Coppens is associate professor of Islamic intellectual and cu ltural history. His research project The Art of Dying i n Islamic Traditions (600–1800) focuses on the relationsh ip between the deathbed in premodern Islam. Reinke is& nbsp;assistant professor of Buddhist studies. His research on contemporary Mahaya Buddhism in a global perspective has recently started branching into the last of phase of life in Buddhism.&nb sp; As part of the University Library, programme maker Marc Lamain co -organises this reading group. If you want to know more abo ut reading groups at the library, the dedicated webpage should be of service to you.&n bsp; 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 the topic is cordially invite d. Together, through literature, film, articles & more, we’ll try t o deepen our understanding of how religion and the last phase of life are intertwined. END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR