Title: Truth on Trial: The Rise and Fall of the Integrated Humanities Program at the University of Kansas (The Adeodatus Series on Catholic Education and Culture)
Publisher: The Catholic University of America Press
Publication Date: 2026
Language: English
ISBN 10: 1949822583
ISBN 13: 9781949822588
Binding: Soft cover
Condition: New

About this title

Synopsis

In this reprinting of Truth on Trial, Robert Carlson outlines the sad state of higher education in America, where "learning" is increasingly disconnected from the pursuit of truth, goodness, and beauty that has always been its most important heritage, replaced by an environment where any view that is not ‘politically correct’ is persecuted and disdained. Drawing upon his own experiences in the transformational Integrated Humanities Program (IHP) at the University of Kansas (KU), Carlson details the crisis that faces education today, and uses the lessons learned through that program’s meteoric rise (and eventual demise) to propose a solution to that same crisis.

Launching in the early 1970’s, the IHP was the "Great Books" brainchild of a trio of KU professors—Dennis Quinn, Franklyn Nelick, and John Senior—who understood that wonder is not only the beginning but also the sustaining principle of the best education, and who sought to offset the radical disintegration permeating Western culture in general and higher education in particular. Convinced that the fragmentation of such major cultural institutions as the family, the church, and the world of education was profoundly affecting students, these three teachers invited freshmen and sophomores at the public university to join their fledgling program, where they would study, hear, and discuss the classics of ancient and medieval literature, listen to their professors converse on "the greatest that has been thought and said," memorize poems, stargaze, take courses in Latin and rhetoric, and much more.

The program’s growth was immediate and rapid—student enrollment increased from 20 in 1970 to 140 in 1971, and 186 in 1972—but its counter-cultural stance put it on fragile ground at KU, and within a year, it was under intense scrutiny, culminating in a public, quasi-judicial proceeding in which a dean-appointed committee sought to determine whether the IHP should continue to exist. Quinn, Nelick, and Senior, professors with a combined total of 90 years in teaching, were now on trial at the university, not because they had taught poorly, but because they had taught too well. On January 20, 1979, the Advisory Committee charged with investigating the Program rendered its verdict, placing it under the administration of a new Humanities Committee, effectively annihilating the IHP.

While its initial trial felt like a defeat, God had other plans in store. Thankfully (and to paraphrase Twain’s famous words), the effects of the IHP’s death were greatly exaggerated. In the years since its untimely demise on the KU campus, its impact on the world of Catholic education has only grown stronger—the fruitfulness of its alumni and friends serving as the ultimate proof of its vision’s great worth. Since the program’s closing in 1979, it has inspired the founding of both Clear Creek Abbey and Wyoming Catholic College, as well as St. Gregory’s Academy in Pennsylvania (which eventually led to Gregory the Great Academy), and St. Martin’s Academy in Kansas. Perhaps most tellingly of all, its clear call to make wonder, beauty, and experience vital parts of any educational program has impacted countless homeschooling families, private and public school teachers, and educational programs in the subsequent years.

About the Author

Himself an attendee the University of Kansas’s Integrated Humanities Program (IHP), Dr. Robert Carlson was a student and friend of John Senior, as well as the Founding Dean of Wyoming Catholic College (WCC) and the writer of its Philosophical Vision Statement, a brilliant expression of the IHP approach to education.

In addition to Alice von Hildebrand’s original forward, this edition features a new forward by Bishop James Conley, head of the Diocese of Lincoln, and an alumni (and convert) of the IHP, a preface from Professor Kyle Washut, President of WCC, an account of the founding of WCC (and of how the IHP’s vision and alumni influenced that founding), and WCC’s Philosophical Vision Statement, penned by Carlson himself in the early stages of the College’s founding.

"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.

Store Description

We carry a comprehensive range of out of print and rare books.

Visit Seller's Storefront

Seller's business information

Kennys Bookshops and Art Galleries Limited
Liosban Industrial Estate, Tuam Road, Galway, GY, Ireland

Sale & Shipping Terms

Terms of Sale

We guarantee the condition of every book as it's described on the Abebooks websites.

If you're dissatisfied with your purchase (Incorrect Book/Not as Described/Damaged) or if the order hasn't arrived, you're eligible for a refund within 30 days of the estimated delivery date.

For any queries please use the contact seller link or send an email to books@kennys.ie

Conor Kenny

Right of cancellation

If you are a consumer you can cancel the contract in accordance with the following. Consumer means any natural person who is acting for purposes which are outside his trade, business, craft or profession.

INFORMATION REGARDING THE RIGHT OF CANCELLATION

Statutory Right to cancel

You have the right to cancel this contract within 14 days without giving any reason.

The cancellation period will expire after 14 days from the day on which you acquire, or a third party other than the carrier and indicated by you acquires, physical possession of the the last good or the last lot or piece.

To exercise the right to cancel, you must inform us, Kennys Bookstore, The Museum at Tall Timbers, 2707 Olney - Sandy Spring Road, 20832, Olney, Maryland, U.S.A., +353 91709350, of your decision to cancel this contract by a clear statement (e.g. a letter sent by post, fax or e-mail). You may use the attached model cancellation form, but it is not obligatory. You can also electronically fill in and submit a clear statement on our website, under "My Purchases" in "My Account". If you use this option, we will communicate to you an acknowledgement of receipt of such a cancellation on a durable medium (e.g. by e-mail) without delay.

To meet the cancellation deadline, it is sufficient for you to send your communication concerning your exercise of the right to cancel before the cancellation period has expired.

Effects of cancellation

If you cancel this contract, we will reimburse to you all payments received from you, including the costs of delivery (except for the supplementary costs arising if you chose a type of delivery other than the least expensive type of standard delivery offered by us).

We may make a deduction from the reimbursement for loss in value of any goods supplied, if the loss is the result of unnecessary handling by you.

We will make the reimbursement without undue delay, and not later than 14 days after the day on which we are informed about your decision to cancel with contract.

We will make the reimbursement using the same means of payment as you used for the initial transaction, unless you have expressly agreed otherwise; in any event, you will not incur any fees as a result of such reimbursement.

We may withhold reimbursement until we have received the goods back or you have supplied evidence of having sent back the goods, whichever is the earliest.

You shall send back the goods or hand them over to us or Kennys Bookstore, The Museum at Tall Timbers, 2707 Olney - Sandy Spring Road, 20853, Olney, Maryland, U.S.A., +353 91709350, without undue delay and in any event not later than 14 days from the day on which you communicate your cancellation from this contract to us. The deadline is met if you send back the goods before the period of 14 days has expired. You will have to bear the direct cost of returning the goods. You are only liable for any diminished value of the goods resulting from the handling other than what is necessary to establish the nature, characteristics and functioning of the goods.

Exceptions to the right of cancellation

The right of cancellation does not apply to:

the delivery of newspapers, journals or magazines with the exception of subscription contracts; and
the supply of digital content which is not supplied on a tangible medium (e.g. on a CD or DVD) if you accepted when you placed your order that we could start to deliver it, and that you could not cancel it once delivery had started.

Model withdrawal form

(complete and return this form only if you wish to withdraw from the contract)

To: (Kennys Bookstore, The Museum at Tall Timbers, 2707 Olney - Sandy Spring Road, 20832, Olney, Maryland, U.S.A., +353 91709350)

I/We (*) hereby give notice that I/We (*) withdraw from my/our (*) contract of sale of the following goods (*)/for the provision of the following goods (*)/for the provision of the following service (*),

Ordered on (*)/received on (*)

Name of consumer(s)

Address of consumer(s)

Signature of consumer(s) (only if this form is notified on paper)

Date

* Delete as appropriate.

Shipping Terms

All books securely packaged. Some books ship from Ireland.

Shipping rates within U.S.A.

Shipping rates within U.S.A.
Order quantity	14 to 20 business days	13 to 14 business days
First item	� 7.83	� 15.66

Delivery times are set by sellers and vary by carrier and location. Orders passing through Customs may face delays and buyers are responsible for any associated duties or fees. Sellers may contact you regarding additional charges to cover any increased costs to ship your items.