Ethnic Studies
In Clovis Community College's Mission Statement, the college “honors diversity and [aims to] serve all students of our community.” Ethnic Studies is an extension of the college's mission as this academic discipline provides opportunities for all students to learn about themselves, each other, their communities, and the world around them. In this department, the focus is on teaching and learning about the epistemologies and experiences of people of color with the goal of dismantling racism and intersectional systems of oppression.
Our Philosophy
In centering C.L.O.V.I.S., our Ethnic Studies Department values:
- Centering the stories of communities of color in the first person, especially in Clovis and in the surrounding area
- Liberation of all communities
- Openness to communities that have been marginalized
- Voices of hope and humanity
- Interconnectedness of our identities, cultures, and experiences
- Solidarity and imagining new futures with our communities and families
Courses
| Course | Course Title | Units |
| Ethnic Studies 10 | Introduction to Ethnic Studies | 3 |
| Ethnic Studies 32 | History of the Mexican American People | 3 |
| Ethnic Studies 35 | Introduction to Asian American Studies | 3 |
| Ethnic Studies 35H | Honors Introduction to Asian American Studies | 3 |
| Ethnic Studies 51 | Introduction to African American Studies | 3 |
Ethnic Studies Degree and Certificate Programs
California Community Colleges are currently building new opportunities in Ethnic Studies through upcoming degrees and certificates. Ethnic Studies degrees and certificates will be posted when they are approved and available to our students.
Career Opportunities
Graduates with a degree in Ethnic Studies often pursue careers that focus on serving and educating communities of color across the United States. Potential career paths can be:
- Community and Housing Development
- Community and Union Organizing
- Government Positions: Local, State, and Federal
- Health and Medicine
- Journalism
- Law
- Marketing
- Radio and Television
- Social Work
- Teaching: College, University, or Secondary Schools (Grades 7–12)
- Writer, Author, Editor
Contact Us
| Name | Discipline | |
| Diana Chandara (she/her) | Asian American Studies | diana.chandara@cloviscollege.edu |
| Dr. Hugo A. López Chavolla | Chicano & Latino Studies | hugo.lopez-chavolla@cloviscollege.edu |
| Von Torres | Asian American Studies | von.torres@cloviscollege.edu |
Resources
Diana Chandara (she/her)
Appointment: 2024
- Ph.D. Candidate University of Minnesota, Twin Cities - Culture and Teaching
- M.A. San Francisco State University - Equity and Social Justice Education
- B.A. University of California, Berkeley - Anthropology
- Minor University of California, Berkeley - Ethnic Studies
Diana Chandara (she/her) is a 2nd-generation Lao American queer woman from Fresno, California.
She is the Ethnic Studies/Asian American Studies Professor, DEIA Faculty Coordinator, and part of the AANHPI Workgroup at Clovis Community College. Outside of CCC, Diana is a board member of the community organization Central California Asian Pacific Women and serves as an academic scholar in the partnership between Laotian American Community Fresno and Fresno Unified School District on creating Lao supplemental resources. She’s also a PhD Candidate in Culture and Teaching at University of Minnesota, Twin Cities. Her research interests are in identity development of Southeast Asian Americans, culturally relevant/sustaining pedagogy, and Asian American femininity and feminism. She has been published in Journal of Curriculum and Pedagogy, The Oxford Encyclopedia of Gender and Sexuality in Education, Teachers College Record, and others.
Diana believes in education as a form of liberation and radical hope for communities. While she has lived in other places, it is her dream come true to return to and collectively nourish the Central Valley.
Dr. Hugo A. López Chavolla
Appointment: 2024
- Ph.D. University of California, Merced - Interdisciplinary Humanities - Transnational Americas Studies
- M.A. University of California, Merced - Interdisciplinary Humanities - Latin American Studies
- B.A. University of California, Merced - Spanish
- B.S. University of California, Merced - Management
Dr. Hugo A. López Chavolla is Professor of Ethnic Studies and Chicano & Latino Studies at Clovis Community College.
He earned his Ph.D. in Interdisciplinary Humanities from the University of California, Merced, where his research focused on migration, identity, and cultural production across the Americas. His teaching and scholarship include Chicano/a/x and Latinx studies, Mexican American history, Latin American literature and culture, Indigenous studies, and comparative ethnic studies. His work has been published in journals such as Theory in Action, Chasqui, Connections, Hispanofilia, and Latin American Literature Today, as well as in edited volumes including Hydrohumanities: Water Discourse and Environmental Futures (UC Press, 2021).
Beyond academia, Dr. López Chavolla has served as a translator, interpreter, and community advocate. A first-generation college graduate from California’s San Joaquin Valley, he is committed to mentoring students and fostering critical conversations on race, culture, and identity.
Dr. Hugo A. López Chavolla
Appointment: Affiliated Faculty in 2023
- M.A. San Francisco State University - English: Creative Writing (Poetry)
- Graduate Certificate San Francisco State University - Teaching of Post-Secondary Reading
- Graduate Certificate San Francisco State University - Teaching of Composition
- B.A. San Francisco State University - English (Creative Writing)
Von Torres (he/him) is a poet, professor, and scholar who was born in Fresno, California and raised in Clovis, California. He attended Clovis High School, Fresno City College, and San Francisco State University.
Von is a Professor in the English & Library Department and Affiliated Faculty in Ethnic Studies and Asian American Studies along with being Faculty Coordinator for the Leon S. Peters Honors Program at Clovis Community College. Since 2015, he has served to grow and create access to the college through curriculum development in English & Reading, Social Justice Studies, and Ethnic Studies to programming for poetry, literature, professional development, and Ethnic Studies to advocacy work for the FAX Bus Line to our campus, amongst many professional projects and endeavors. He prides himself in being a mentor and supporter for students and colleagues to navigate and understand systems so they can achieve their goals and contribute to their classrooms and communities in culturally relevant and humanizing ways.
From 2021-2022, Von served as the Executive Director and is currently a staff member of LitHop Fresno, Fresno’s annual literary arts festival. His scholarly work has been published in academic journals and The SAGE Encyclopedia of Filipina/x/o American Studies, where he co-write four entries on Poetry, Spoken Word, Arts & Humanities Introduction, and Bahala Na.
Von’s teaching and work is rooted in the transformative power of reading and writing to develop our literacies and tell the stories of ourselves, our families, and our communities.
