Interestingly, it was his experience in the West that gave him a new perspective on Africa.

As a graduate student of English at University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Diop became more conscious of Senegal's oral tradition while studying medieval English texts, which were originally meant to be transmitted orally.

He remembers that during his childhood, storytellers, or "griots," would spend afternoons with his family, reciting tales from the past as they strummed the "xalam," a traditional African lute.

Diop says the griots have played a crucial role in strengthening the identities of the various ethnic groups in Senegal because they preserve the country's history through oral tradition.

"Francophone literature is really a continuation of oral tradition," Diop says.

Ultimately, his main goal in teaching francophone literature is to dispel stereo-types of Africa.

"I grew up in a big house with running water, heat, electricity, a library," he says. "I got to go to the best schools and all these cultural centers in Dakar."

"The Africa you see on CNN--Rwanda, Ethiopia, that's just a 5 second soundbite," he adds. "That's not all of Africa."