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Signe Cohen

Associate Professor and
Director of Graduate Studies
Education: Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania
Interests: South Asian Religions
Email: cohens@missouri.edu

My main interests are Hinduism and South Asian Buddhism. Trained as a Sanskritist, I enjoy working with original Hindu and Buddhist texts, both in Sanskrit and in other ancient Asian languages, such as Pali, Prakrits, Tibetan, and Tocharian.

In my research I attempt to combine philological and philosophical analysis. In my recent work on the Upanishads, I have tried to establish a relative chronology for these ancient Sanskrit texts, and I have identified later interpolations within each text. I then use this text-critical analysis as a basis for discussing the historical development of important Hindu concepts present in these texts.

On the lighter side, I am deeply fascinated with ancient tales about robots and mechanical beings. I am particularly interested in how Hindu and Buddhist robot stories express fundamental beliefs about soul and soullessness.

Another ongoing research interest is the undeciphered Indus Valley script (Pakistan/North India ca. 2000 BCE). I have attempted to demonstrate that the language underlying this ancient script is unlikely to be an Indo-European or Dravidian one. My research on this topic continues!

Teaching

RS 2110 Major World Religions
RS 2700 Islam
RS 3200 Hinduism
RS 3240 Buddhism of South and Southeast Asia
RS 4001/4005 Topics: Sanskrit I
RS 4001/4005 Topics: Sanskrit II
RS 4001/4005 Topics: Old Norse
RS 4960 Readings: Sanskrit III
RS 8210 Texts: Indian Buddhism
RS 8200: Religious Texts and Interpretations: The Veda

Recent Publications

Text and Authority in the Older Upanishads. Brill 2008.

Was the Indus Civilization Matrilineal? Acta Orientalia 67 (2007): 189-202.

The Indus “Seal of Divine Adoration” and the Khasi Myth of Origins Acta Orientalia 66 (2005): 7-13.

Romancing the Robot and Other Tales of Mechanical Beings
in Indian Literature Acta Orientalia, 64 (2003): 65-75.

Ewigkeit im zyklischen Weltbild in O. Reinke (ed.):
Ewigkeit – was ist damit gemeint? Beiträge aus Natur- und Geisteswissenschaften, Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht 2003.

Vediske skrifter. Oslo: De Norske Bokklubbene 2002. (Introduction to Vedic religion, including translations).

On the Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit/Middle Indic Ending "-e" as a 'Magadhism', Acta Orientalia Vol. 63 (2002).

Ramayana (Verse translation of selections from the Sanskrit epic), Oslo: De Norske Bokklubbene 2000.

The Svetasvatara Upanishad Reconsidered, Acta Orientalia 59 (1998) 150-178.

Text Transformed: A Text-Critical Study of the Older Upanishads (forthcoming).

The Substitute Guests: Feeding Brahmans at the Sraddha (forthcoming).

Vediske skrifter. Oslo: De Norske Bokklubbene 2002. (Introduction to Vedic religion, including translations).

On the Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit/Middle Indic Endig "-e" as a 'Magadhism' ,
Acta Orientalia Vol. 63 (2002).

Ramayana (Verse translation of selections from the Sanskrit epic), Oslo: De Norske Bokklubbene 2000.

The Svetasvatara Upanishad Reconsidered, Acta Orientalia 59 (1998) 150-178.