Asian Studies Minor

The Asian continent is home to the world’s largest and most diverse population, as well as to some of the world’s fastest growing economies. Students interested in becoming experts in any area of contemporary Asian societies can complete the minor in Asian Studies. Students can select courses from various disciplines including geography, environmental studies, language, history, political economy, business, art, religion, health, or other facets of one or more Asian societies. There is no specific language or study abroad requirement for the minor. However, students are strongly encouraged to integrate training in an Asian language and/or a study abroad experience into their degree plan.

• Elizabeth McLean Macy, Ph.D., Chair of Asian Studies, Associate Professor of Ethnomusicology & Faculty Fellow in the Office of Diversity and Inclusion
  • Dr. Macy specializes in music and performance of Bali, Indonesia and Southeast Asia. She teaches courses on Musics of the World, Global Pop, and Music, Race, & Power and leads study abroad courses in Bali on Balinese music, arts, and culture. She is the area coordinator for MSU Denver’s global music ensembles, working closely with Gamelan Manik Kusuma. Dr. Macy oversees and coordinates the Music, Race, & Social Justice Visiting Artist Series.
• Maria Akrabova, Ph.D.
  • Chair of World Languages and Associate Professor of Spanish
• James R Aubrey, Ph.D.
  • Professor Emeritus of English
• Antonio C Bellisario, Ph.D.
  • Professor of Geography
• Rebecca Forgash, Ph.D.
  • Professor of Anthropology
• Jian Guatney, M.A.
  • Instructor of Chinese
• Bora Jeong, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Political Science
  • Dr. Jeong studies politics in East Asia, Political Economy, and Political Violence and Peace. Currently, Dr. Jeong teaches Politics of East Asia and is working on research about the political impact of Confucianism in Asia and China’s international engagement. Dr. Jeong’s dissertation is about Chinese economic influence in civil-conflict experienced countries.
• Ting Jiang, Ph.D.
  • Associate Dean for Curriculum, Accreditation, and Program Review & Professor of Sociology
• Ziyao Ma, Ph.D.
  • Assistant Professor of History
• Richard Moeller, Ph.D.
  • Professor of History
• Kayoko Moore, M.A.
  • Instructor of Japanese
• Parameswari Mukherjee, Ph.D.
  • Assistant Professor of Communication Studies
• Vincent Piturro, Ph.D., Professor of English
  • Dr. Piturro is a Professor of Film and Media Studies at MSU Denver. He has taught a course on Asian Cinema for several years, and he has published on “Asian Women in the Western,” and other book chapters and articles on Asian Cinema.
• Helena Reddington, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Philosophy
  • In addition to teaching courses on Asian religions at MSU Denver, Dr. Reddington’s research centers on religious traditions from Kerala, South India. Prior to joining MSU Denver, Dr. Reddington worked as an Advisor for the International Partnership on Religion and Sustainable Development, which focuses on the positive potential of religious actors to meet the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

FLAS (Foreign Language and Area Studies) Fellowships for Undergraduate Students:

• Summer 2025 application deadline is February 15, 2025

Summer 2024 Winners (Japanese CET Japan Summer Program):

• Sophia Gordon
• Nicholas Munroe

Student Organizations:

• Chinese Cultural Ambassadors
• Japanese Club