His publications largely focus on Sahelian West Africa, especially Mali, Burkina Faso, and Senegal, as well as Palestine, Jordan, and Israel.
[3] In 2001, Wise edited a collection of writings by Sahelian writers entitled The Desert Shore that included political essays by the slain Burkinabe journalist Norbert Zongo.
Obed Nkunzimana called The Desert Shore “A substantial scholarly, humanistic, and ethnical contribution to the understanding of Africa in general and the Sahel in particular.”[4] Wise also translated Zongo's The Parachute Drop into English in 2004, a novel about a corrupt West African dictator which was based on figures like Mobutu Sese Seko and Blaise Compaore.
Nubia Kai called Wise’s translation “an occasion for celebration,” and she attributed the long neglect of Kati's book to institutional racism.
[6] Wise's translation of the Tarikh al fattashhas been praised for its readable prose, and it remains one of Africa World Press's best-selling books.
[7] Wise's works in literary criticism have focused on African, Middle Eastern, and Native American authors, including Chinua Achebe, Ngugi wa Thiong’o, Frantz Fanon, V. S. Naipaul, Mary Crow Dog, and others.
Derrida’s work may now begin to resonate more clearly in Africa and in African Studies in particular.”[10] Thirteen years after his essay on Derrida and Zionism appeared, Wise published a follow-up essay in Gianni Vattimo and Michael Marder's ‘’Deconstructing Zionism,’’ which included contributions from Slavoj Zizek, Judith Butler, Luce Irigaray, and others.