Ecstasy in the Classroom - (Fordham Medieval Studies) by Ayelet Even-Ezra

About the Book

Ecstasy in the Classroom analyzes the early thirteenth century theological discourse about Paul's rapture and other modes of cognizing God. It reconstructs the perceptions of transformation and self they imply, and demonstrate their role in establishing the peculiar professional identity of scholastic theologians compared with other seers of God.

Book Synopsis

Ecstasy in the Classroom analyzes the early thirteenth century theological discourse about Paul's rapture and other modes of cognizing God. It reconstructs the perceptions of transformation and self they imply, and demonstrate their role in establishing the peculiar professional identity of scholastic theologians compared with other seers of God.

Review Quotes

The intellectual pitch of Ecstasy in the Classroom will be evident from its title. Even-Ezra's fascinating and deeply learned book studies the intricate means by which the rationalism of scholastic inquiry comes to terms with ecstatic, inspired knowledge. The author's point of departure: scholastic philosophy's grappling with the phenomenon of St. Paul's transport into the 'third heaven' as the basis of his theology. The author also probes the psychology and ethics of inspired knowledge, and presents the mediating experiences of trance, ecstasy, prophetic vision as means not only of insight, but of 'transformation of the self.' Even-Ezra's work extends the focal point of mystical knowledge from individuals in isolation to the classroom.---C. Stephen Jaeger, University of Illinois

With light and sure feet Even-Ezra dances through complex scholastic debates concerning rapture, prophecy, faith, wisdom, and beatific vision; if those were the only steps she braved the book would be worth its purchase price. But Even-Ezra dares trickier choreography still, as she guides her reader through discussions on how these debates are motivated by questions concerning cognition of God, what they suggest about the role of the theologian in the church and in society, and how knowing God (whether rationally or ecstatically) transforms the knower. What results is a delight to behold, a feat in medieval studies. Readers curious about the foundations of scholastic theology as well as the practice of academic theology today will find Ecstasy in the Classroom worth pursuing.-- "Reading Religion"

Even-Ezra is an excellent storyteller and her book is eminently readable. It is essential reading for those interested in medieval rapture, cognition, faith, scholastic debate, and the history of the universities.-- "Speculum"

This work is an important contribution to recent research on the University of Paris in its early decades....[It] will appeal to a wide audience, including those working on scholastic philosophy and theology and those interested in rapture, vision, and mystical experience.---William J. Courtenay, Church History

About the Author

Ayelet Even-Ezra is Assistant Professor of History at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. She studies Europe's medieval scholastic culture of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries.