Questions That Matter: How to Live Long and Prosper – Lessons from a Star Trek Opera
On March 13, 2026, Ben Leeds Carson (Professor of Music), Camilla A. Hawthorne (Associate Professor of Sociology), and Pranav Anand (THI Faculty Director and Professor of Linguistics) at UCSC, along with librettist Perre DiCarlo, considered the question: What do we need to live a fulfilling life? This essential question of the humanities feels especially pressing now, on the precipice of profound changes to our planet, our bodies, and our sense of human exceptionality. This conversation — and music-and-drama masterclass — about speculative fiction from the Star Trek world, the myth of Orpheus, explored what the operatic form can teach us about intelligence, humanity, and the good life.
Dan White wrote about the conversation for UC Santa Cruz.
Watch a recording of the event here:
Event photos:
Questions That Matter is a public humanities series developed by UCSC Humanities Institute and the community of Santa Cruz. It brings together, in conversation, two or more UC Santa Cruz scholars with community residents and students to explore questions that matter to all of us. The series is a part of a strategic initiative of The Humanities Institute to champion the role and value of the humanities in contemporary life. At the University of California Santa Cruz, we understand that the humanities are a crucial element of any first-rate liberal arts education. Indeed, what distinguishes the best universities in the United States is the fact that the humanities are an integral part of their core curriculum, along with the arts and sciences