In many ways, the liberal arts approach to education that Perlman embraced as an undergraduate at Lawrence mirrors his burgeoning career as an entertainer. A government major at Lawrence, Perlman performed in theater productions for four years, and he embraced lessons taught in philosophy courses, even working as a student tutor in symbolic logic.

Now, he said, he takes a “liberal arts approach to creativity,” built on his ability to be a critical thinker.

“One of the strengths of a liberal arts education is you can sort of dabble in a handful of different disciplines,” he said. “I took all the acting classes I could at Lawrence. I took a directing class. One thing I really liked about Lawrence is there wasn’t this hard line between departments, where you only know people in your own discipline. I liked living between the different fields.”

That philosophy pays off in the comedy work he’s doing now.

“I do think being well-educated and knowledgeable and following public events makes you a stronger comedian,” he said. “That’s the strength of a liberal arts education; it recognizes the intersection of everything.”

Perlman has been on the writing staff for The Late Show for six years. Colbert gave Perlman’s book an on-air shout-out when it was released in June.

“It’s full of some of my favorite cartoons,” Colbert said on his show, highlighting a particular favorite where a genie says to a dog with a stick, “I mean, I can throw it a third time.”

Cartooning became part of Perlman’s comedy repertoire in 2020 when the COVID pandemic set in and his standup comedy was put on pause. A lifelong doodler, he committed himself to the art and found a receptive audience at The New Yorker, where his cartoons have gotten consistent play.

Four years later, Perlman joined forces with Simon & Schuster, the same publisher that put out the cartoon books of his childhood—Calvin and Hobbes, Far Side, and Fox Trot, among others.

“I’m honored to be part of that family,” he said.

The book quickly sold out of its initial order, meaning Perlman’s book tour was abbreviated as they awaited a new shipment. He made appearances in New York, Chicago, and his hometown of Madison, Wisconsin. He expects to resume tour stops in the fall.

While the book features many of the Perlman cartoons that have published in The New Yorker, the majority are panels being seen for the first time. That was by design, Perlman said. He didn’t want the book to be a copy of his Instagram account.

“I wanted it to feel like people were getting something they couldn’t get somewhere else,” he said. “I pushed for that.”

A funny journey

When Perlman graduated from Lawrence, he knew he wanted to try his hand in entertainment. Having sampled comedy as part of a student improv group at Lawrence, he opted to immerse himself in Chicago’s comedy scene.

Second City became a sort of grad school program for Perlman. He took classes, performed on house teams, joined touring groups, toured on a cruise ship, and finally landed on one of their prized Resident Stages. He was doing upwards of 10 shows a week.

“I feel like the improv world in Chicago was my second college,” Perlman said. “You have a group of people you come up with, sort of like your freshman class. You take classes together and you work your way through. It’s a ladder you’re climbing.”

He caught the attention of NBC’s Saturday Night Live, which flew him to New York for a screening. While he didn’t get the job, he fell in love with the city. He made the move, shortly thereafter, landing a writing job with a Comedy Central show that lasted nine months. That led to an offer to join the writing team at Colbert’s The Late Show.

“I like all kinds of writing,” Perlman said. “Comedy writing is a big muscle with a lot of different supporting muscles. It feels good to work all those different muscles. Improv and sketch and cartooning, it’s all part of the same thing. I love doing it all.”

Perlman credits Lawrence faculty in the government, theater, and philosophy departments with honing his critical thinking, writing, and performance skills. In particular, he singles out Steven Wulf, associate professor of government.

“Probably more than anyone, Professor Wulf taught me to be a writer,” Perlman said.

Those Lawrence faculty also pushed him to be attuned to the world around him—to push boundaries, be curious, be flexible. All that comes into play on The Late Show and in his ongoing work in cartooning.

“A lot of things in life you don’t have control over,” Perlman said. “So, it’s important to be able to flex and make the best decision in the moment. I think being a good critical thinker who is able to stay calm has a lot to do with that. I think Lawrence set me up to be a thoughtful person who can approach situations clearly and think through them critically and deliberately. That’s been a real strength.”

For Nico Manzanera, traveling to The Gambia wasn’t the only first. He had recently declared a business and entrepreneurship major, a program that began at the start of the 2023-24 academic year. He became the first business major to go on one of these research trips.

“I was very happy to take the opportunity,” Manzanera said.

A sophomore from Bradenton, Florida, Manzanera chose to explore the main challenges and opportunities for businesses in The Gambia. He was able to speak with people from all walks of life—entrepreneurs, lawyers, athletes, and politicians.����

Much of his observation came from traveling to local gathering spots in the city, as well as riding public transportation and talking to taxi drivers.����

“I traveled a lot,” Manzanera said. “I got to see a lot of the day-to-day life of these people.”��

Senior Gigi Wood received one of her best leads from a taxi driver.����

A double major in international relations and philosophy from Lake Villa, Illinois, Wood chose to base her research on sports and youth sports in The Gambia. Her taxi driver introduced her to a soccer player who played internationally for 16 years.����

“He was the most helpful interview I had for my project, and I hadn’t even planned it,” Wood said. “It just kind of came about just from going to different areas and seeing different fields in the country.��I was able to stumble on these amazing people who filled me in on things I wouldn’t have found online researching and gave me insights to look into on how sports can develop in these countries.”��

As an athlete herself—Wood played on the women’s ice hockey team for four years—the topic was a perfect fit. Through her interactions, Wood hoped to learn more about the difficulties The Gambia had with their developing infrastructure, how athletes develop, and what that means for their country.����

One of their main challenges, Wood said, is that many of the best athletes travel to Europe to play, especially soccer players. This makes it difficult to develop the professional teams in The Gambia.��

However, she found that some international players have started to return to The Gambia to open youth sports programs.����

“I got to talk to a few of them and get the real sense of what it means to be a youth athlete in a developing country like The Gambia,” Wood said.����

Junior Miami Kirkwood found that The Gambia is at the forefront of global environmental conversations.����

Although The Gambia is a small nation with a vast array of environmental concerns, the country also has some of the most ambitious Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) for the Paris Climate Agreement. (An NDC is a climate action plan to cut emissions and adapt to climate impacts.)��

Kirkwood, an environmental studies major from Delton, Michigan, focused her research on Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and how they collaborate with policymaking in developing countries.��

“NGOs in The Gambia play a much different role than they do here in the United States,” Kirkwood said. “They’re much more hands-on.”��

Kirkwood had an interview with the team at Green Up Gambia, one of the most renowned NGOs in the country.����

One thing founder Kemo Fatty said that struck her, Kirkwood said, was The Gambia was “ground zero” for climate change, and that it was their job to talk to people to facilitate their needs.��

“Starting with the people who are experiencing environmental crises or environmental concerns and really engaging with local populations and listening to their needs,” Kirkwood said. “These organizations have the resources to do more about that, so really they view themselves as facilitators rather than as saviors.”��

To Quynh Anh (Cailey) Cao Le,����a sophomore international relations major from Vietnam, that understanding of the daily lives, struggles, and goals of the local people made the trip a unique experience.��

“I think that is the amazing part,” Cao Le said. “We had a chance to understand their daily life. You have a chance for very intense interaction, also intense observation—really, really powerful to help understand more about the country.”��

Cao Le’s research focused on the relationship between democracy and Islam in The Gambia. According to Cao Le, about 96% of the population of The Gambia identifies as Muslim, and the country just adopted democracy in 2017.����

In addition to interviewing the Imam of the Masjid Taqwa Mosque, one of the leading religious leaders in the country, Cao Le also observed how the people acted, prayed, and worshiped, including in public spaces, to fuel her research.����

��Fun and games

Even with a schedule jam-packed with interviews and meetings, the students were able to squeeze in time to have some fun. With the beach just steps away from their hotel, swimming and playing beach volleyball together were common pastimes.��

They also embraced the city life by wandering the town and enjoying local foods, African music, and each other’s stories about their experiences. The numerous markets were also a highlight of the trip.����

“There were a ton of markets you could go to and really engage with the locals,” Kirkwood said. “I think we made a lot of local friends. It is branded ‘The Smiling Coast’ for a reason.”��

In addition, some were able to visit the Bijilo Forest Park, a national park often known as Monkey Park, to learn about the efforts around sustainability and the conservation of the monkeys that reside there.��

��Giving back

The second component of Field Experience in Development is volunteerism: giving back to a local community in tandem with KidsGive, a scholarship program associated with Lawrence. The mission of KidsGive is to educate those in the U.S. about the life and culture of African communities.��

“The students both do field research and volunteer in community schools, so they help contribute to the places that they visit as well,” Skran said.��

Organized by junior Fanta Jatta, a neuroscience major from Madison, Wisconsin, the students visited Presentation of Mary Basic Cycle School in Brikama. Four of the 16 students came to The Gambia specifically to volunteer, attending the school daily to perform eye screenings for 400 students. They also helped an eye doctor with further examinations, and KidsGive furnished 32 students with much-needed glasses.����

Additional Lawrence students came to help with the screenings for one day of the week, which Wood said was a very eye-opening experience for her.����

“When I was very young, I started wearing glasses and contacts,” Wood said. “A lot of these older kids who were coming in had really bad vision, and they had been going through school not knowing that they needed these.”��

Lawrence and KidsGive also gave back in the form of sports fun, which Wood connected to her research. Before arriving at the school, Wood purchased sports equipment to be donated to the school, and Lawrence put on a field day for the students. They all spent the afternoon playing soccer and volleyball and conducting relay races.����

Wood said one of her favorite things about the day was seeing how dedicated some of the students were to their sport.����

“These boys ran all the way home, changed into their soccer uniforms and cleats, and came back because they wanted to show us how good they were at soccer,” Wood said.����

The day they were able to spend at the school was one of the most impactful parts of the entire trip for both Manzanera and Cao Le.������

“Just seeing how happy the kids were to see us, to interact with us, how excited they were,” Manzanera said, “that really made me very happy to see.”��

For Cao Le, the warm-heartedness of the kids made a big impact.����

“I feel like a few hours of playing with the kids made my heart feel so much love and kindness,” Cao Le said. “I definitely want to come back to that school again, all because of the experience with the people in The Gambia, the local people. They are so amazing, kind, and warm-hearted.”��

Community-engaged learning

One of the benefits of traveling as part of the class, the students agreed, was that they were able to explore the country deeper and at a different pace than a tourist.��

Kirkwood reflected on how the structure of the trip forced her outside of her comfort zone. Usually a planner and itinerary follower, she adapted to their pace and was able to “go with the flow.”����

“It really made me feel like I connected more with the people there,” Kirkwood said, “and just kind of enjoyed their presence as they enjoyed mine, and that was really nice.”��

Without the class, Wood thought she wouldn’t have gotten the same experience in The Gambia.��

“Going out into the cities, going into people’s homes, into the schools, I got to experience the country from a lot of its different aspects,” Wood said. “I’m happy that I got the experience to travel there and do this kind of research.”��

On May 15, the students presented their research posters in Steitz Atrium. The posters remain on display in Briggs Hall.����

Set in 2006, the film depicts the Kingdom of Bhutan’s transition to democracy through an oft-humorous story involving a mock election, a valuable rifle that falls into the hands of a monk, an American antique weapons collector in pursuit, and villagers unmoved by material goods.

The Monk and the Gun earned the Showcase Audience Choice Award in Vancouver and the Special Jury Prize in Rome. And it’s been drawing stellar reviews.

Variety magazine called it a “droll, shrewdly satirical fable, in which Western values crash against a seemingly intransigent (but potentially more enlightened) South Asian culture.” The review praised Dorji as a “gifted storyteller who keeps audiences guessing about his characters’ motives until the surprising moment everything comes together.”

Deadline predicted an Oscar nod for Dorji and the film: “No sophomore jinx here, this one is even better than his first, and that is saying something.”Dorji, a Bhutan native, was a government major at Lawrence and has said professors such as Claudena Skran, William Hixon, and Steven Wulf were instrumental in his studies. He returned to Bhutan following graduation and took up filmmaking about a decade later.

In an interview with The Wrap, Dorji said he’s still wrapping his head around the whirlwind journey he took when Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom went from an unknown film by a first-time Bhutanese filmmaker to a 2022 Oscar nominee.

“It can be quite challenging when you work that hard to make something and then people don’t even see it,” Dorji said. “But as a Buddhist, I believe in karma, and I believe that if you have the right motivation and you work hard, things start turning around. And it was amazing to see the film go from this remote school (where the film was shot) and make its way through the world and end up as an Oscar nominee.”

The Monk and the Gun explores new territory, set in the context of a shift to democracy, Dorji tells The Wrap.

“I really wanted to build on what I had achieved with��Lunana��and challenge myself as a storyteller,” he said. “I also wanted to play around with political satire and tell a story of my country in this state of transition.”

The lecture, The War in Europe—the U.S. Stake in Ukraine’s Success, Is part of the 2023-24 Povolny Lecture Series in International Studies. It begins at 4:30 p.m. in Steitz Hall 102. A reception is planned for 4 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.

Greenwald is a retired senior U.S. diplomat, having spent more than 30 years focused on diplomacy between East-West, the Middle East, the European Union, and various aspects of international law. He spent the 1998-99 academic year teaching courses on the origins of war and the Cold War at Lawrence under the auspices of the Scarff Professorship.

Named in honor of the late��, a long-time Lawrence government professor, the lecture series promotes interest and discussion on issues of moral significance and ethical dimensions.

Galambos completed a degree in sociology in Hungary and holds a B.A. in business administration and communication from McDaniel College in Maryland. He spent a year at the Freie Universitaet Berlin as a Fellow at the European Journalism-Fellowships program. He worked at various Hungarian news outlets and periodicals for 10 years before joining Forbes Hungary, a leading Hungarian business magazine, in 2013.

Getting energized:��What work have you done or will you be doing at Lawrence that gets you the most excited?

In class, I am always most excited to hear how students develop their own papers or research projects.�� Iknow what I am interested in, but students have different approaches to their own topics. Watching that develop is among the most satisfying parts of my work at Lawrence.��

One of my favorite activities outside the classroom is talking with the community about political ideology, development of political parties, and education policy; really, the things I do in class. I’ve been on a local radio station (WHBY) a long time and have done talks for community groups longer. Working at a college, it is easy to forget that our students will be “out there” soon, and I find talking with “out there” keeps my classroom discussions relevant and timely. Not to mention on my toes: Community members ask different questions!

Going places:��Is there an example of somewhere your career has taken you (either a physical space or something more intellectual, emotional or spiritual) that took you by surprise?

I have always appreciated asking people questions, whether for research interviews, class projects, or reviews. There is something very fulfilling in listening to how others think. I’ve often been surprised how people explain their actions or beliefs, if only you give them space to do so. The act of listening builds rapport, trust, and community even when those explanations confirm your expectations.

OUT OF THE CLASSROOM

This or that:��If you weren’t teaching for a living, what would you be doing?����

No one is told what would have happened, but my alternate career path was in engineering or maybe a history Ph.D. I still love talking about the contingencies of history, and my students probably get more history in class than they expect. But I’ve always loved being outside, and when I wasn’t teaching politics in graduate school, I was working on the UW research farm. Now we have some cider apple trees, lavender, and honey bees. I suppose I’d be outside with a sun-burnt nose.

Right at home:��Whether for work, relaxation or reflection, what’s your favorite spot on campus?

It sounds academic, but I love the library. I can’t quite shake an indelible affinity for mouldering paper. I can’t work there, because I wind up reading a book somewhere in JF or LB or HM about something I knew nothing about. The loss of browsing is one of the great costs of the internet.��

One book, one recording, one film:��Name one of each that speaks to your soul? Or you would recommend to a friend? Or both?

I’ll take liberties with this question and give two books long in print: The Brothers Karamazov (my favorite book, although the New Yorker comic, “Super Karamazov Bros.” kinda sums it up) and Cry, The Beloved Country. Both books speak to the regenerative power of grace and forgiveness, the appearance of which our politics don’t permit much. I do like Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln, too, which nods toward the crassness of process that accompanies the “firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right,” as Lincoln put it. Tommy Lee Jones is terrific as Thaddeus Stevens.