Richard Cohen (University of Virginia)

Richard J. Cohen
Visiting Scholar
Middle Eastern & South Asian Languages & Cultures Department
University of Virginia
109 Harris Road
Charlottesvilla, VA  22903 USA

Phone: 434-295-6410
email: rjc8s@virginia.edu
URL:   http://www.virginia.edu/mesa/faculty_south_cohen.html

Description of work:
My intellectual interests lie primarily in the medieval, transitional 
languages and literatures of north India, such as Apabhramsa, early 
Hindavi and Awadhi. Through such literatures one can trace the cultural 
continuities within South Asian civilization as it undergoes changes in 
response to the arrival of Islamicate cultures. I have developed an 
interest and specialization in Jainism through my work in Prakrit and 
Apabhramsa, and in early South Asian Sufism through a study of its 
literature, and developing material for syllabi on the role of Islam in 
South Asian civilization. I am keenly interested in the development of 
Indian cinema, particularly in the post Independence period  how it 
manifests political and cultural change.