Coetsier's recent article, “Europe's Secularism and the Politics of the Soul,”  is published in the latest issue of “Fides et Libertas” (2011). The article calls attention to the secularism rampant in Europe and its religious-political commotion, while seeking a common understanding about the philosophical and theological resources for the rediscovery of the ‘politics of the soul’ and the defense of human civilization.

PhD: Comparative Science of Cultures, Ghent University

Title: “Etty Hillesum and the Spiritual Search: An Analysis of the Diaries and Letters 1941-1943 in the light of Martin Buber, Emmanuel Levinas and Dietrich Bonhoeffer”

Pages: 640 pp.

Publisher: University Press (October 20, 2011)

Language: English

ISBN: 978-90-7083-053-3

Book Review on VoegelinView

Exegesis of a Mystic's Experience

A book review by Macon Boczek

 Meins G.S. Coetsier. Etty Hillesum and the Flow of Presence: A Voegelinian Analysis. Columbia: U. of Missouri Press, 2008. Bibliography, Index. 228 pp. Hardcover. $37.50.

On Wednesday, March 17, 2011 VoegelinView published a review by Prof. Dr. Macon Boczek of Etty Hillesum and the Flow of Presence: A Voegelinian Analysis .

See also:
Review by Prof. Dr. Francis T. Hannafey in the American Journal Theological Studies 70, no. 2 (June, 2009): 512.

Italian review by Dr. Nicoletta Stradaioli in the Italian scientific periodical Il pensiero politico: rivista di storia delle idee politiche e sociali, Anno XLIII, n. 2, Firenze: Casa Editrice Leo S. Olschki, 2010.

Presentation of the Conference Proceedings
‘Spirituality in the Writings of Etty Hillesum’

In November 2008 an international conference took place at Ghent University on the spirituality and authorship of Etty Hillesum (Middelburg 1914 - Auschwitz Birkenau 1943). Some twenty experts from eight countries presented their papers. The texts are included in a conference volume. Boston Brill Academic Publishers has published the manuscript under the title ‘Spirituality in the Writings of Etty Hillesum.’ The editorial was carried out by Klaas A.D. Smelik, Ria van den Brandt en Meins G.S. Coetsier.

It seemed a good idea to present the first copy of this book to dr. Hannie Kool-Blokland, director of the Zeeland Archives in Middelburg, and to offer next to a book-launch a program of lectures and other activities. In this way, we paid attention in Middelburg in a variety of ways to this internationally widely read author. Several individuals and agencies both in and outside the city have participated and contributed to this initiative of the Etty Hillesum Research Centre of Ghent University, making a varied program possible.

Central meeting point was the Town Hall at the Market Place of Middelburg, where once Dr. Levie Hillesum reported the birth of his daughter Esther, who was born on February 15, 1914 in their family home at 77 Molenwater.

In this historic monument there were two lectures on Etty Hillesum. Writer Lisette Thooft spoke on ‘The New Spirituality of Etty Hillesum’ and Professor Erik Borgman reflected on ‘The Inability to Testify on Behalf of Others – the Impossibility not to Testify on Behalf of Others.’

The first copy was presented to director dr. Hannie Kool-Blokland.

Berlin artist Roman Kroke, who has been inspired by the writings of Etty Hillesum, has created a series of illustrations to accompany her work, in which he depicts the essence of her spiritual and moral legacy. Roman Kroke gave an excellent account of his work in DE DRVKKERY. The originals were on display.

There was also the possibility to participate in a ‘Etty Hillesum walk’ through this wonderful capital of Zeeland and a short memorial service took place in the Middelburg synagogue.

Historic 26th Annual International Meeting of the Eric Voegelin Society was held at the 106th APSA Annual Meeting convened in Washington, DC from September 3-5, 2010.

 A record-breaking 7,350 political scientists, publisher representatives, and academics from related fields gathered to discuss the meeting theme, "The Politics of Hard Times: Citizens, Nations, and the International System under Economic Stress," and to explore a wide range of other political science topics and research. Led by program chairs Andrea Campbell, MIT, and Lisa Martin, University of Wisconsin, Madison, the program committee developed a schedule including more than 900 panel sessions, roundtables, and plenary addresses.

Ellis Sandoz, director of the Eric Voegelin Society, announced that the one-hour TV documentary film on Voegelin's life and work is now finished. The film was shown during a Business Meeting in the Omni Shoreham Hotel.

This year's SILVER ANNIVERSARY meeting of the Eric Voegelin Society was held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, in conjunction with the APSA convention.

For the first time in its 105 years, the Annual Meeting occured outside the United States. The 2009 APSA Annual Meeting convened in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, September 3-6, 2009. The migration of the annual meeting to an international location is symbolic of the multiplicity of ways in which politics is in motion as well as our discipline. Program Chairs, Bruce Jentleson, Duke University, and Simone Chambers, University of Toronto, asked political scientists to think about the pursuit of knowledge in a context of change and complexity as a scholarly endeavor and to bring that knowledge to bear on the crucial challenges that shape our contemporary era.

Ellis Sandoz, director of the Eric Voegelin Society, announced that The Eric Voegelin Institute Series in Political Philosophy and in Religion and Politics now includes 30 volumes with others in press. The Collected Works of Eric Voegelin (34 vols.) now is complete, the achievement of the past quarter century! A one-hour TV documentary film on Voegelin's life and work is in production for release later this year. The DVD of "Voegelin in Toronto" is available from Amazon.com or contact Fritz Wagner. A highly successful Voegelin conference was held at the University of Lyon in March. A new edition of Geoffrey Price's Voegelin bibliography is in preparation at the Voegelin Center in Munich. The translation of Voegelin's works and pertinent secondary literatures into Chinese is proceeding apace.

On Monday evening November 3, 2008, Dr. Meins G.S. Coetsier gave a paper in the Seminar Room of the Moore Institute at Galway University, Ireland. His paper "Etty Hillesum and the Experience of Reason" {Voegelin, Buber & Levinas} was part of a visiting speakers series where lecturers from other universities present their research on a variety of philosophical topics. The department of philosophy hosts these talks, which are characterised by lively discussion in a friendly atmosphere. The Irish scholars were especially interested in the philosophical issues (Voegelin, Levinas and Buber) that were addressed by Coetsier in his talk on Etty Hillesum.

Beverly Jarrett (University of Missouri Press) and Meins Coetsier (Ugent) in Boston, 2008

The book of Meins G.S. Coetsier, published in America by University of Missouri Press, came out July 2, 2008. Etty Hillesum and the Flow of Presence can be ordered online at Amazon or at other bookstores world-wide.

• hardcover: 248 pages
• Publisher: University of Missouri Press (July 2, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0826217974
• ISBN-13: 978-0826217974

Etty Hillesum and the Flow of Presence: A Voegelinian Analysis (Eric Voegelin Institute Series in Political Philosophy: Studies in Religion and Politics) 

Synopsis provided by the publisher
Although she died cruelly at Auschwitz at the age of twenty-nine, Etty Hillesum left a lasting legacy of mystical thought in her letters and diaries. Hillesum was a complex and powerful witness to the openness of the human spirit to the call of God, even under the most harrowing circumstances. Her life was as much shaped by Hitler's regime as was that of philosopher Eric Voegelin, and as Meins Coetsier reveals, her thought lends itself to interpretation from a uniquely Voegelinian perspective."Etty Hillesum and the Flow of Presence" analyzes the life and writings of Hillesum from the standpoint of Voegelin's views on consciousness - especially his philosophy of luminous participation in the transcendent ground of being. Through a careful reading of her letters and diaries, Coetsier reveals the inner development of Hillesum's mystically grounded resistance to Nazism as he guides readers through the symbolism of her spiritual journey, making effective use of Voegelin's analytics of experience and symbolization to trace her path to spiritual truth.Intertwining the lives, works, and visions of these two mystical thinkers, Coetsier demonstrates his mastery of both Voegelin's philosophy and Hillesum's Dutch-language materials.

He shows how mystical attunement to the "flow of presence" - Voegelin's designation for human responsiveness to the divine - is the key to the development of Hillesum's life and writings. He displays a special affinity for the suffering and grace-filled transformation that she underwent as she approached the end of her life and gained insight into the ultimate purpose of each individual's contribution to the well-being and maintenance of the human spirit.Retrieving one of the lesser-known but most compelling figures of the Holocaust, "Etty Hillesum and the Flow of Presence" is an original contribution to both Voegelin and Hillesum scholarship that reflects these writers' strong valuation of the human person. It presents Hillesum's life and work in an original and provocative context, shedding new light on her experiences and their symbolizations while further broadening the application of Voegelin's thought.