Christopher Wise (along with Kristiana Kahakauwila) ran the Senegal Program for the second year, bringing 15 WWU English majors to Dakar, Saint Louis, and Saly, where they studied West African literature and culture. Wise, Kahakauwila, and Suzanne Paola co-edited a special international issue of The Bellingham Review featuring West Africa writers. The special issue is entitled “Scribes, Griots, and Poets: New Writing From West Africa,” including Wise’s translations of excerpts from the Tuareg poet Hawad’s poem ‘In The Net’ and the Senegalese author Boris Boubacar Diop’s short story “Night of the Imoko.” Wise also participated in a panel discussion in Djilor, Senegal at the Foundation Léopold Sédar Senghor, entitled “Léopold Sédar Senghor et la poésie de la négritude” (February 10, 2020). Since the coronavirus struck, he has been stuck at home recording lectures for his classes on deconstruction and animal metamorphosis. These lectures are available for public viewing on his YouTube channel, “Christopher Wise.”
