This workshop will discuss a chapter from Dr. Nir’s next book, which presents a reading of the spatial logic of the films Ave Maria (2015) and The Band's Visit (2007), and the TV show Shtisel. The discussion will focus on the way these cultural texts allow the viewers to perceive the uneven structure of capitalism in the Middle Eastern context of their production; how they capture the contradictory experience of this unevenness; and how they imagine the historical and social overcoming of these contradictions. A draft of the chapter Dr. Nir will discuss and a brief contextualization are available upon request. -- Dr. Nir currently is Visiting Associate Professor of Jewish Studies and a member of the Center for Social Theory at UTK, and his regular position is Associate Professor of Hebrew at Queens College, New York. Dr. Nir’s talk is made possible through the Karen and Pace Robinson Endowment in Judaic Studies.  Hosted by Jewish Studies and the Center for Social Theory.