Public Lectures by Zsófia Anna Tóth

The English Department is proud to invite you to

public lectures

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)

Abstract TBA.