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:20260806T161037 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. Pieter Coppens & dr. Jens Reinke, everyone’s academic and persona l perspective on the topic is cordially invited. Together, throu gh literature, film, articles & more, we’ll try to deepen our und erstanding of how religion and the last phase of life are intertwine d.

The topic 

It’s easy t o resort to clichés when it comes to death. Death is far away in muc h of everyday life, and at the same time it is everywhere. Death is u niversal and yet also highly particular: personal, cultural, con textual. So, death as a topic exists on these junctions of always pre sent and pushed away; of applying to everyone but also manifesting it self in highly specific ways. Connected to these junctions we find re ligion’s interactions with death. Where in many instances reli gion is pushed to the fringes of society, death seemingly reinvi tes religion into the conversation, perhaps implying m ore junctions. It is from this broad sketch, that we enter the field as a reading group. As organisers, we hope people from a wide range of disciplines feel invited to join, from medical and behavioural sciences to literature and philosophy. 

< strong>Session build-up 

This first session centres on Leo Tolstoy’s The Death of Ivan Ilyich. F or a rudimentary introduction to this reading material, you can scroll down to the book cover. Prof. dr. Dirk-Martin Grube will offer an introduction to the novella and its relation to our topic.&n bsp;Co-organiser Marc Lamain will guide the ensuing conversation.&nbs p;The schedule is as follows: 

12:45 p.m. walk-in (at the University Library, HG-01A01) 12:55 p.m. opening: the organisers intro duce 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 Tolstoy 
1:25 p.m. window t o leave (for anyone with other commitments after the lunch break) 
1:30 p.m. open conver sation 
1:55 p.m. summarising and wrap- up 
2:00 p.m. closing 

Reading group build-up 

During thr ee initial sessions we’ll enter this  wide thematic field together. We’ve purposefull y selected light and elementary material for these three se ssions, so we can ease into the topic together. Once w e’ve laid this foundation, subsequent sessions  can have a more refined angle and more complex material. Yo u’re free to join us for any of the sessions that speak t o you; but do encourage you to join us all along the way.  

The initial sessions are built up as follows: < /p>

At the end of 2026 subsequent sessions will be an nounced. 

The organisers 

Th is reading group is co-organised by the University Library and r esearchers dr. Pieter Coppens & dr. Jens Reinke. Copp ens is associate professor of Islamic intellectual and cultural histo ry. His research project The Art of Dying in Islamic Tr aditions (600–1800) focuses on the relationship between&n bsp;the deathbed in premodern Islam. Reinke is assista nt professor of Buddhist studies. His research on contempor ary Mahaya Buddhism in a global perspective has recently started bran ching into the last of phase of life in Buddhism. 

As part of the University Library, programme maker Marc Lamain co-organ ises this reading group. If you want to know more about rea ding groups at the library, the dedicated 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 librar y on ‘End-of-Life & Religion,’ co-organised by dr. Pieter Coppe ns & dr. Jens Reinke, everyone’s academic and personal perspective on the topic is cordially invited. Together, through literature , film, articles & more, we’ll try to deepen our understanding of  how religion and the last phase of life are intertwined. END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR