Boston University has decided to push the academic envelope—or, perhaps more accurately, shove it into a drag bag and parade it down the cobblestone streets of 12th-century Paris.

In a feat of scholarly innovation, the university is rolling out a Medieval Trans Studies course, where students can explore the gender fluidity of angels and trans saints.

For the eye-watering price of nearly $90,000 a year, your child can ponder the pressing question: Were St. Joan of Arc’s preferred pronouns actually Jo/an?

This, ladies and gentlemen, is what higher education has come to: postmodern identity theory retrofitted to the Middle Ages, a time when life expectancy barely surpassed 40 and sewage systems were … optional.

In the academic hothouse of 2025, however, it seems not even angels can escape the scalpel of contemporary identity politics.

Never mind that angels — if one accepts their existence — are traditionally viewed as ethereal beings entirely unconcerned with biology, pronouns, or the concept of gender itself. No, Boston University has discovered that Gabriel might have been she/they all along.

Saints, Scholars, and Suspension of Disbelief

Medieval Trans Studies is allegedly an “emerging academic discipline.”

Emerging from where, one wonders? Perhaps from the same academic oubliette that birthed courses like “Beyoncé Makes History: Black Radical Tradition, Culture, Theory & Politics Through Music” and “Taylor Swift and Her World” — at Yale and Harvard, no less.

These so-called studies serve one purpose: to force-feed students the notion that the past can be reshaped into a mirror of present-day obsessions. Who needs historical accuracy when you can have ideological relevance?

In Boston University’s case, this relevance comes in the form of “gender-fluid angels.” Now, medieval theologians like Thomas Aquinas spent countless hours debating whether angels had free will or corporeal forms, but apparently, they were remiss in considering whether the Archangel Michael might identify as a demi-boy. No doubt Aquinas would find the depth of today’s TikTok religious debates woefully lacking.

But let’s not stop at angels.

The course description promises discussions of “trans saints,” which I can only assume means martyrdom now comes with a side of activist flair. St. Nicholas might now be recast as the forerunner of modern identity politics — though he certainly did not identify as a jolly old elf.

Academic Alchemy: Turning Tuition into Absurdity

The real magic of this course isn’t in unearthing lost truths about medieval spirituality — it’s in transforming taxpayer dollars and parent-funded tuition into ideological fool’s gold.

Consider this: Boston University is a private institution, but like most universities, it benefits from the generous flow of federal dollars via grants, research funding, and student loans. So, while you’re stuck choosing between heating your home and affording groceries, rest assured that a portion of your tax dollars is indirectly subsidizing an academic deep dive into whether angels are genderqueer.

And let’s not forget the students themselves. At the end of the semester, what exactly will they have gained? A sharper understanding of history? An appreciation for the art, literature, and theology of the Middle Ages? No, they’ll have a stack of notes on why Mary Magdalene might now be recast as a proto-feminist icon ready for social media activism. Such insights will be invaluable in the job market, where employers are clamoring for experts in medieval identity politics.

The Bigger Picture: Woke Academia’s Obsession with Identity

Boston University’s Medieval Trans Studies course is symptomatic of a broader trend: the academic obsession with rewriting history to fit modern narratives. Whether it’s casting Cleopatra as a champion of racial justice or portraying the Roman Empire as a forerunner of diversity equity initiatives, the past is no longer a place for objective inquiry. Instead, it’s a playground for ideological projection.

This trend isn’t harmless. It erodes the credibility of academia and undermines the critical thinking skills students are supposed to develop. When history becomes a malleable tool for advancing political agendas, we lose the ability to learn from it. After all, if the medieval period can be rebranded as a hotbed of LGBTQIA+ activism, what other historical truths are being distorted for convenience?

No Safe Space for Faith

There’s a grim humor in all this, of course. Imagine a medieval peasant transported to Boston University in 2025. The peasant, whose primary concerns were avoiding the plague and finding enough bread to survive, would likely collapse in bewilderment at a lecture on “trans saints.”

And who could blame him? If nothing else, this course proves that while medieval people lived in a time of superstition, modern academia is fully capable of outdoing them in absurdity.

But beneath the farce lies a troubling reality: Boston University and much of America’s higher education industrial complex increasingly appear determined to deny adherents of the Christian faith any intellectual refuge. What was once the bedrock of Western civilization — its moral framework and cultural cornerstone — has become the target of ridicule, ideological manipulation, and exploitation.

In classrooms like these, Christianity is not studied to be understood or appreciated; it is mocked, distorted, dissected, and repurposed to fit a modern agenda. The study of history is essential to understanding our world, but it must be pursued with a commitment to truth, not twisted to serve ideological ends.

The angels may lack gender, but academia’s agenda increasingly leaves no room for faith, truth, or tradition.

Charlton Allen is an attorney and former chief executive officer and chief judicial officer of the North Carolina Industrial Commission.  He is the founder and editor of The American Salient and the host of the Modern Federalist podcast.

Image: Daderot, via Wikimedia Commons // CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication