This study is an investigation of the subject matter of eighty Italian cassone paintings of the fifteenth century now located in the United States and answers a four-part question: (1) What were the major themes pictured on cassoni panels during the Quattrocento? (2) Were the themes of cassoni in Quattrocento Italy predominantly of a religious or secular nature? (3) If secular subject matter was dominant in cassone painting, was this a reflection of the newly founded tastes of aristocratic, wealthy and middle classes? (4) Did cassoni mirror the way these classes viewed themselves and the place occupied by women in society?

Haiku Seasons is a choral work that uses several haiku to portray moments in nature. Spread throughout the performance space, four choirs (SATB, 3/part) depict larger parts of the pastoral scene (i.e., mountains, the moon, etc.). Soloists depart from the choirs in order to perform solo, duo, trio, and quartet passages, which take place throughout the work. If enough singers are available, individual soloists may be used. The soloist groups display the more intimate moments of the scenes (i.e., sparrows, a blade of grass, etc.). The intent of Haiku Seasons is to create an image of nature isolated from human interaction. Thus, the image is a pastoral setting with many independent parts all coexisting in a relatively silent world. I combine aspects of tonality, time, space, and silence to create this image.

The following study investigates the impact of the secular processes present in Early Modern Japan on Matsuo Bashō's prose. The theoretical basis for exploring this development is found in Durkheim’s distinction between the transcendent and the immanent, as well as the theoretical framework for secularism. The exploration of Bashō's writings is conducted through several key themes: self-presentation, people, religious concepts, nature and aestheticisms. From these categories a complex pattern emerges. It illustrates the enduring nature of the contemporary world-views through numerous references to and descriptions of existing systems of thought. Bashō's response to the dynamic societal changes of his time is an outright rejection of the new developments; instead he turns to nature and romanticism steeped in existing tradition.

Forgiveness is a concept that is strongly rooted in Christianity. Forgiveness therapy was developed with Christian principles and has proven to be successful for Christian counselors. However, forgiveness has not been explored from the perceptions of secular counselors. Specifically, it is not known if secular counselors are using concepts that are similar to Christian forgiveness therapy. Using forgiveness therapy, this qualitative grounded theory study described the experiences, thoughts, and understanding of forgiveness from the views of secular counselors. Research questions addressed if secular mental counselors have a concept similar to forgiveness therapy as defined in the Christian counseling literature. Individual interviews were recorded via Zoom, transcribed, open coded, and analyzed to produce themes. The 10 themes that were generated from the data included (a) varied theoretical orientations, (b) need to address/assess client anger, (c) perceptions of anger, (d) various meanings of forgiveness, (e) views on reconciliation, (f) acceptance and moving forward, (g) working with client trauma, (h) mindfulness is the key, (i) participants' lives and their personal resiliency, and (j) same approach used to address various types of anger. The results demonstrated that the secular counselors in this study believed that forgiveness is not needed to address anger. Counselors who read this study will gain a greater understanding of forgiveness, as well as counseling techniques and theories used to address anger from the standpoint of secular counselors. Information from this study may be used in the development and education of all counselors and will increase understanding of varied approaches in counseling.

The English Walnut Joke is a composition for concert band and dramatic soprano. The English Walnut Joke was based on a text of the same title by Alec Rowell and is divided into two movements with a total duration of approximately twenty-two minutes. The joke concerns itself with the dealings between a wood-chopper and a jongleur in medieval England and is related to the audience by a destitute factory worker (the dramatic soprano) in the early Industrial Age of that country.

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