Törzsök Réka/CV | Institute of English and American Studies

Name: Réka Törzsök

Place and date of birth: Debrecen, 2001

Email: torzsok.reka33@gmail.com

MTMT ID: 10101017

ORCID ID: 0009-0001-9218-2862

 

2025–	University of Debrecen | Doctoral School of Literary and Cultural Studies British literature and culture subprogramme (supervisor: Prof. Tamás Bényei)
2023–2025	University of Debrecen | MA in English Studies English literature specialisation (650/2025/BTK; grade: with honours)
2020–2023	University of Debrecen | BA in English Studies British literature and culture track, business English specialisation (745/2023/BT; grade: with honours)
2015–2020	Mihály Fazekas Secondary School, Debrecen English-German and STEM-specialised class (P44T065752; attained secondary school diploma with honours in English as a foreign language (expedited), IT (expedited), Hungarian language and literature, history)

Autumn semester 2025: Part-time instructor leading two groups of English teacher training (OMA) students in the seminar Skills Development: Writing and Composition (AN1002OMA)

30 April, 5 May 2025. Leading four seminars within the courses Advanced Writing and Composition (BTAN10006BA) and Skills Development: Listening and Speaking (BTAN10002BA, BTAN1001OMA)

2 April, 23 April, 30 April 2025. Assisted in organising and conducting preparatory sessions for first-year BA and OMA students for the oral component of the end-of-the-year EYE exam (including exam-situation practice and preparation guidance)

24 April 2024. Led a seminar on George Orwell’s 1984 within the MA course British Fiction in the First Half of the Twentieth Century (BTAN2111MA, Prof. Tamás Bényei)

February 2024–: As a tutor in the Writing Center program at the Institute of English and American Studies, University of Debrecen, I supported BA and English teacher training (OMA) students by providing feedback on assignments and essays, advising them on preparation for the EYE exam, and conducting at least one session per semester within the framework of the following four courses:

·         Spring semester 2025: Advanced Writing and Composition (BTAN10006BA, BTAN1005OMA, Dr. Emőke Takácsné Tóth)

·         Autumn semester 2024: Skills Development: Writing and Composition (BTAN1002OMA, Dr. Emőke Takácsné Tóth)

·         Spring semester 2024: Advanced Writing and Composition (BTAN10006BA, Dr. Pál Csontos)

 

University of Debrecen | István Hatvani College for Advanced Studies

·         October 2023–: Student Representative of the English and American Studies specialised group

·         June 2022–: Member of the English and American Studies specialised group

March 2024–: University of Debrecen | Institute of English and American Studies | SAME (Student Association for Majors in English, organisation and planning of events)

February 2024–: University of Debrecen | Institute of English and American Studies | Writing Center

October 2022–July 2025: University of Debrecen | Talent Management Programme (DETEP)

 

May 2024–: Digital Games Research Association (Finland)

October 2023–: Northeast Popular & American Culture Association (USA)

September 2023–: The Orwell Society (UK)

 

English C2 (Cambridge C2 Proficiency, Grade A; 2019; 500/2429/2), C1 (2019; 2066533), MA degree in English Studies (2025; 650/2025/BTK)

Spanish B2 (2022; 2371439)

German B2 (2020; P44T065752: advanced level school-leaving exam)

French A1 (two semesters of university electives)

 

5 July 2025. Outstanding Student of the University of Debrecen (in recognition of exceptional academic and professional accomplishments)

9 May 2025. University of Debrecen | Certificate of Recognition issued by István Hatvani College for Advanced Studies (for earning 3^rd place at the 37^th OTDK)

1 December 2023. University of Debrecen | Certificate of Recognition issued by István Hatvani College for Advanced Studies (for earning 2^nd place at the 36^th OTDK)

13 June 2023. University of Debrecen | Certificate of Recognition issued by the Faculty of Humanities (for outstanding academic achievements and significant public activity), and I gave the valedictorian speech at the BA graduation ceremony (https://youtu.be/UIKXRUM14_4?t=5100)

12 May 2023. Best BA-level research poster presentation at the 13^th International Student Poster Presentation Conference in English and American Studies (ELTE, online) (BA in literature, history, and culture category)

4 May 2020. Fazekas Award (for outstanding performance in the OKTV competition)

 

September 2024–June 2025: University Research Scholarship Program | Master’s Degree Scholarship (Title of research: Ethics and Intersubjectivity in Sandra Newman’s Julia, EKÖP-24-2-DE-172, supervisor: Prof. Tamás Bényei)

September 2024–June 2025: National Higher Education Scholarship

September 2023–June 2024: New National Excellence Program | Higher Education Master’s Student Research Scholarship (Title of research: Intersubjective Relations in Orwell’s 1984, ÚNKP-23-2-II-DE-264, supervisor: Prof. Tamás Bényei)

September 2023–June 2024: National Higher Education Scholarship

November 2023: University of Debrecen | MA Professional Scholarship

 

16 April 2025. 37^th OTDK, English Literature section, 3^rd place (Title of research: “No leisure from pleasure”: Economy, Spirituality and the Psyche in Huxley’s Brave New World, supervisor: Prof. Tamás Bényei)

16 May 2024. 27^th Partium TDK, English Language and Literature section, 2^nd place (Title of research: Spirituality and Intersubjective Relations in Orwell’s 1984, supervisor: Prof. Tamás Bényei)

2 May 2024. University of Debrecen Faculty of Humanities TDK, English Studies, American Studies, Linguistics section, 3^rd place (Title of research: Feminist Ethics in Sandra Newman’s Julia, supervisor: Prof. Tamás Bényei)

12 April 2023. 36^th OTDK, English Literature 1. section, 2^nd place (Title of research: Strange Intimacy: Intersubjective Relations in Orwell’s 1984, supervisor: Prof. Tamás Bényei)

18 May 2020. OKTV, English as a Foreign Language II., 21^st place

 

20^th-21^st century Anglophone dystopian novels

The fiction of George Orwell and Aldous Huxley

Narrativity, temporality and intersubjective relations in (indie) video games

Literary representations of spirituality and mysticism, and theoretical approaches to them (Georges Bataille’s eroticism and economic system, Christian eschatology, Buddhism)

Literary representations of physical violence, and theories of torture and pain (e.g. Jean Améry, Elaine Scarry, Adriana Cavarero)

Freudian psychoanalysis (particularly the economy of the psyche) and Freud’s theory of civilisation

Ethical theories (Emmanuel Lévinas; feminist ethics, e.g. Carol Gilligan, Nel Noddings)

Philosophical, psychological, and ethical aspects of intersubjectivity

20^th-century Anglophone utopian literature

Queer studies

Transgressive fiction and extreme cinema

Horror film (body horror, slasher)

(Neo-)Victorian novel

 

10. 2025. The Paradoxes of Torture in Orwell’s 1984. Atlantis. (Q1, accepted for publication)

9. 2025. Spirituális üresség Huxley Szép új világ című regényében. Juvenilia XI. Debreceni Bölcsész Diákkörösök Antológiája. (forthcoming)

8. 2025. The Paradox of Apple’s iPad Pro Advertising Strategy. A mi tendenciáink... - Szakkollégiumi tanulmányok 10. (forthcoming)

7. 2025. From Manor Farm to Contemporary Britain (review of Adam Biles’s Beasts of England on the occasion of the 80^th anniversary of the publication of Animal Farm) The Orwell Society, 14 Aug. 2025, https://orwellsociety.com/from-manor-farm-to-contemporary-britain.

6. 2025. “Bringing off a Successful Swindle”: The Educational Climate and Its Capitalist Discontents in Orwell’s A Clergyman’s Daughter. Brolly: Journal of Social Sciences, vol. 6, no. 1. London Academic Publishing, 95–105. https://journals.lapub.co.uk/index.php/brolly/article/view/2957.

5. 2024. Strange Intimacy: Spirituality and Intersubjective Relations in Orwell’s 1984. Brno Studies in English, no. 50, vol. 2, 207–227. https://doi.org/10.5817/BSE2024-2-10 (Q2/Q3)

4. 2024. „Tiefer als Freundschaft”: Die Erotik von Orwells 1984. Staféta 9. Partiumi Kiadó, 113–124.

3. 2024. Reimagining Oceania from Julia’s Point of View. (review of Sandra Newman’s Julia) The Orwell Society Journal, no. 24. 44–46. https://orwellsociety.com/member-benefits/orwell-society-journal

2. 2023. „Ami itt történik veled, az örökre szól”: Eszkatológia és testi létezés az 1984-ben. Juvenilia X. Debreceni Bölcsész Diákkörösök Antológiája. Printart-Press, 251–258. https://btk.unideb.hu/sites/default/files/inline-files/Juvenilia%2010_v…

1. 2023. The Ambiguities of Charlotte Bartlett in E. M. Forster’s A Room with a View. A mi tendenciáink... - Szakkollégiumi tanulmányok 9. University of Debrecen, 193–205. http://hatvaniszakkoli.hu/sites/default/files/kiadvanyok/Kotet_2023.pdf

 

Spring–summer 2025: A mi tendenciáink... - Szakkollégiumi tanulmányok 10. editor-in-chief (joint editor-in-chief with Tamás Dániel Andrékó, István Hatvani College for Advanced Studies)

 

31. 9–11 October 2025. Farmyard Politics Revisited: Violence and Satire in Adam Biles’s Beasts of England. 2025 Northeast Popular & American Culture Association Annual Conference, USA (online)

30. 20 June 2025. Etika és interszubjektivitás Sandra Newman Julia című regényében. EKÖP Institutional Conference, University of Debrecen (as part of my EKÖP-24-2-DE-172 grant project)

29. 5 June 2025. A Race Against the Clock: Temporality and Narrative Immediacy in 80 Days. Ludonarratives: Stories, Art, and Play in Game Studies Young Scholars’ Conference, University of Szczecin, Poland (online)

28. 9 May 2025. “Bringing off a successful swindle”: The Educational Climate and Its Capitalist Discontents in Orwell’s A Clergyman’s Daughter. István Hatvani College for Advanced Studies, 2025. évi Tavaszi Tudományos Hallgatói Konferencia, Debrecen

27. 8 May 2025. Female Unpersons: Feminist Ambiguities in Sandra Newman’s Julia. Károli English Studies Conference 2025, Károli Gáspár University of the Reformed Church, Budapest

26. 16 April 2025. “No leisure from pleasure”: Economy, Spirituality and the Psyche in Huxley’s Brave New World. 37^th OTDK, University of Szeged

25. 6 December 2024. Seduction and Survival: Femme Fatale Identity in Sandra Newman’s Julia. István Hatvani College for Advanced Studies, 2024. évi Őszi Tudományos Hallgatói Konferencia, Debrecen

24. 29 November 2024. “Happiness has got to be paid for”: Bataillean Economy in Huxley’s Brave New World. Institute of English and American Studies TDK, University of Debrecen

23. 21 November 2024. Harnessing the Accursed Share in Huxley’s Brave New World. Autumn 2024 Pre-TDK Workshop, István Hatvani College for Advanced Studies, Debrecen

22. 8 November 2024. „Mindenki mindenkihez tartozik”: Eroticizmus Huxley Szép új világ című regényében. VII. Partium-konferencia, Partium Christian University, Oradea, Romania

21. 3 October 2024. “Everyone belongs to everyone else”: Bataillean Eroticism in Huxley’s Brave New World. 2024 Northeast Popular & American Culture Association Annual Conference, USA (online)

20. 25 June 2024. Pain, Power, Perversion: The Tortured Body in Orwell’s 1984. (Inter)Disciplinary Bodies, Brunel University London, UK

19. 17 June 2024. Interszubjektív kapcsolatok George Orwell 1984 című regényében. ÚNKP Institutional Conference, University of Debrecen (online, as part of my ÚNKP-23-2-II-DE-264 grant project)

18. 17 May 2024. Beyond the Frontlines: Exploring Survival, Morality and Narrative in This War of Mine. Digital Games as Cultural and Literary Narratives, Hacettepe University, Turkey (online)

17. 16 May 2024. Spirituality and Intersubjective Relations in Orwell’s 1984. 27^th Partiumi TDK, Partium Christian University, Oradea, Romania

16. 10 May 2024. Narrative Design and Intersubjectivity in Firewatch. István Hatvani College for Advanced Studies, 2024. évi Tavaszi Tudományos Hallgatói Konferencia, Debrecen

15. 2 May 2024. Feminist Ethics in Sandra Newman’s Julia. Faculty of Humanities TDK, University of Debrecen

14. 25 April 2024. Carol Gilligan’s Ethics of Care in Sandra Newman’s Julia. Spring 2024 Pre-TDK Workshop, István Hatvani College for Advanced Studies, Debrecen

13. 18 April 2024. “Unfold to the world the deepest mysteries of creation”: Scientific Experimentation in Frankenstein and The Island of Doctor Moreau. Re-Imagining the Victorians, Queen’s University, Canada (online)

12. 9 February 2024. Beyond the Lookout: Discursive Design in Firewatch. International Conference on Literature, Digital Popular Culture and the Evolving Narrative, Christ (Deemed to be University) Delhi NCR Campus, India (online)

11. 23 January 2024. Language as a Torture Instrument in Orwell’s 1984. 2^nd Debrecen International Graduate and Postgraduate Workshop, Institute of English and American Studies, University of Debrecen

10. 1 December 2023. Bataillean Sacrifice in Orwell’s 1984. István Hatvani College for Advanced Studies, 2023. évi Őszi Tudományos Hallgatói Konferencia, Debrecen

9. 10 November 2023. „Ami mélyebben gyökeredzik, mint a barátság”: Eroticizmus Orwell 1984-ében. VI. Partium-konferencia, Partium Christian University, Oradea, Romania

8. 21 October 2023. Language as a Tool of Deception in Firewatch. Games and Language Conference, Institute of English and American Studies, University of Debrecen

7. 13 October 2023. “Deeper than friendship”: The Eroticism of 1984. 2023 Northeast Popular & American Culture Association Annual Virtual Conference, USA (online)

6. 12 May 2023. “What happens to you here is for ever”: The Eschatology of 1984. 13^th International Student Poster Presentation Conference in English and American Studies, ELTE, Budapest (online)

5. 28 April 2023. The Ambiguities of Charlotte Bartlett in E. M. Forster’s A Room with a View. István Hatvani College for Advanced Studies, 2023. évi Tavaszi Tudományos Hallgatói Konferencia, Debrecen

4. 12 April 2023. Strange Intimacy: Intersubjective Relations in Orwell’s 1984. 36^th OTDK, Károli Gáspár University of the Reformed Church, Budapest

3. 8 December 2022. “Everything will be dead inside you”: Torture and Confession in 1984. István Hatvani College for Advanced Studies 2022. évi Őszi Tudományos Hallgatói Konferencia, Debrecen

2. 18 November 2022. “Everything will be dead inside you”: Torture and Confession in 1984. Institute of English and American Studies TDK, University of Debrecen

1. 22 April 2022. Parallels between Winston Smith’s Relationship with Julia and O’Brien in George Orwell’s 1984. Faculty of Humanities TDK, University of Debrecen

 

March–May 2025: Writing assessor for The Orwell Youth Prize competition organised by The Orwell Foundation (provided professional assessment of 150+ British students’ work in argumentative essays, journalism, short stories, poems, and game designs)

21 November 2024. Head organiser of the Autumn 2024 Pre-TDK Workshop (István Hatvani College for Advanced Studies)

24-25 October 2024. Participation as a student assistant in organising and facilitating the “Looking Back and Ahead: Exploring Uniquely Canadian Cultural Narratives” conference, UD Institute of English and American Studies

21-23 August 2024. Participation as a student assistant in organizing and facilitating the “Johnson-Reed 100 Years Later” conference, UD Institute of English and American Studies

25 April 2024. Head organiser of the Spring 2024 Pre-TDK Workshop (István Hatvani College for Advanced Studies)

March 2024–: SAME (Student Association for Majors in English, organisation and planning of events, e.g. I assist in the organisation of the annual Síkfőkút excursion and English Majors’ Week of the Institute of English and American Studies)

October 2023–: As Student Representative of the English and American Studies specialised group: maintaining contact between the management of the College, members of the specialised group, and instructors at the Institute of English and American Studies; assisting in the organisation and facilitation of the College’s autumn and spring conferences; organising workshops for the members of the College; promoting the College and University of Debrecen talent management at professional events; recruiting and interviewing new members

 

20 November 2024. As Student Representative of the specialised group, promoted István Hatvani College for Advanced Studies and UD talent management at DEXPO

7 December 2023. As Student Representative of the specialised group, promoted István Hatvani College for Advanced Studies and UD talent management at the career day of Árpád Tóth Secondary School of Debrecen

30 September 2022. Assisted in conducting the Institute of English and American Studies’ programme promoting Irish culture at UD Researchers’ Night

 

August 2025. Teaching Writing Specialization, John Hopkins University (Coursera, online)

5 August 2025. University Teaching, The University of Hong Kong (Coursera, online)

26 July 2025. Google Project Management: Professional Certificate (Coursera, online)

21 March 2025. Totalitarian Novels, Hillsdale College (USA, online)

8 July 2024. Certified Peer Reviewer Course, Elsevier Researcher Academy (Denmark, online)

21 May 2024. George Orwell and Nineteen Eighty-Four, The Open University (UK, online)

February–June 2021: Participation in the online program “International Speaking Skills Development” of the University of Debrecen (English-American Institute) and Indiana University Bloomington (Department of Second Language Studies, USA)

2018; 2020: ECDL certificate (Debrecen)

2018: Silva Method training (Debrecen)