News

The English Department is proud to invite you to

public lectures (and seminars)

by

Zsófia Anna Tóth, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor
Institute of English and American Studies
University of Szeged

Co-President, American Humor Studies Association

Comedy Studies Area Chair, Northeast Popular and American Cultural Studies Association

 

Mae West's Fight for Equality through Humor

Monday, October 19, 2026, 4.10 pm, P103

Mae West is remembered as one of the greatest comedians and humorists of all time. However, as a writer, as an auteur, as an actress, performer and public persona, she challenged the questions and boundaries of gender, race and class. West promoted the social and cultural equality of disadvantaged groups and minorities by using humor, especially gendered humor, within cultural interactions, helping the social and cultural recognition and acceptance of issues related to class, race and gender, and primarily the issues of feminism and homosexuality.

 

Humor in American Literature

Monday, October 19, 2026, 8.50 am, P103
and
Tuesday, October 20, 2026, 12.30 pm, P103 (pick your preferred date)

This interactive seminar, organized around a group discussion of Mark Twain's "A Presidential Candidate," as well as short excerpts of some other texts, provides a hands-on introduction to the phenomenon of humor in US literature.

 

The Evolution of Disney Princes and Princesses

Tuesday, October 20, 2026, 10.40 am, P004
and
Thursday, October 22, 2026, 8.50 am, P007 (pick your preferred date)

This interactive seminar aims to overview the history of the Disney Company and with it the development of the Disney Princes and Princesses. By discussing various animated films throughout the (bit more than) 100 years of the Company's existence, we will uncover what changes occured in the representation of these characters to fit the changing demands of time.

Anna Štádlerová, a literary translator from English and Spanish and this year’s winner of the prestigious Magnesia Litera Award for Translation, will walk us through the process of translating a book, from receiving the commission to publication. We will also look at what life is like for literary translators in the Czech Republic, the current state of the Czech book market, and the role AI is beginning to play in all of this. When: 16 November at 4 pm Where: P302  Language: The guest speaker will speak Czech, however, free interpreting into English is available on request; if you are interested in the event and cannot understand Czech, please contact Ms Sýkorová at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

December 9th, 12:30 - 14:00, room P201, in Czech - Lessons learned from Iceland: Social justice, inclusion, and plurilingualism in diverse classrooms. Lekce z Islandu: Sociální spravedlnost, inkluze a vícejazyčnost v různorodých třídách.

December 11th, 8:50 - 10:25, room P100, in English - Plurilingualism at school: Heritage, second, foreign, minority, and
sign languages acknowledged, included, and activated

December 11th, 12:30 - 14:05, room P100, in English - Educational linguistics in dialogue with inclusive pedagogy

Renata Emilsson Peskova, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor at the School of Education, University of Iceland. Renata’s research interests are in the field of educational linguistics and include plurilingualism and multilingualism, linguistically responsive and plurilingual pedagogies, language policies, heritage and second language education, and linguistic identities.

Come and listen to Irish ballads in Irish and English, as well as excerpts from Irish-language literature in Czech translation (a survey of Irish-language literature from the 12th to the 20th century).

Performers: Radvan and Jana Markus, Martin Světlík, Jáchym Hájek
When: November 7, from 5:00 p.m.
Where: Chill-out zone on the ground floor of Building P

(Link to KAJ's Facebook event)

By the decision of the Rector's Office, there is no teaching on 12 November 2025 from 10:40 till 12:15, i.e. teaching blocks 5 & 6.

Teaching at that time is cancelled at the entire TUL in order to make it possible for students to participate in Job TUL Days – detailed program (in Czech) to be found at https://www.jobtuldays.cz/ Please note the programme extends beyond the 10:40–12:15 teaching blocks, and there are events scheduled for 13 November, too.

For the official announcement (in Czech only), see https://doc.tul.cz/14967