Lili Zach

Lili Zach is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of English Studies at Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary. Her academic work bridges the School of English and American Studies and transnational historical research, with a focus on Ireland and Central Europe.

• M.A. in English (Irish Studies) and History from University of Szeged, Hungary
• Ph.D. from National University of Ireland, Galway

Her research centers on three interconnected fields: transnational history linking Ireland with Central Europe, humour studies in 20th-century totalitarian regimes, and food history tracing colonial and political influences on gastronomy. She emphasizes contextualizing events within broader historical frameworks to enhance critical engagement with primary sources.

Recent publications explore topics like the transnational journey of Trappist cheese from Bosnia to Hungary (2022), humour's role in post-1956 Hungarian society (2025), and Jewish culinary traditions pre-1945 (2024). Her work often examines how colonial, national, and communist forces shaped cultural artifacts.

She actively participates in international conferences including the European Social Science History Conference (ESSHC), Association for the Study of Nationalities (ASN), and British Association for Slavonic and East European Studies (BASEES), presenting research on Irish-Central European parallels in political identity, minority questions, and diplomatic links.

Lili supervises graduate research in modern history of English-speaking countries, humour studies, and food/drink history. Her teaching portfolio includes courses on political humour, colonial food culture, and 20th-century Irish-Hungarian relations.