Students spending winter quarter studying West African literature and culture in Senegal
Fifteen Western students just completed three weeks in Senegal, where they were immersed in the study of West African literature and culture.
was led by 草榴社区 English Professor Christopher Wise and Program Coordinator Ablaye Diakite, who works with the Endangered Archive Project to digitalize West African Ajami manuscripts, affiliated with Boston University.
The group visited the capital city of Dakar, the Atlantic slave trade hub of , the holy city of , and the culturally significant cities of and , and the coastal resort cities of Saly and Mbour.
鈥淪tudents study West African Sufism, griot epics, Medieval Songhay manuscripts from Timbuktu, modern West African novels, short stories, poems, and film,鈥 Wise said. 鈥淲e also tour different Senegalese universities, hear lectures from Senegalese professors, surf, swim in the ocean (it's 鈥榳inter鈥 here, which means temperate, Maui-like weather), and visit animal reserves. We also heard African musical performances, eat Senegalese cuisine, etc.鈥
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