“Dead Technologies,” with Tucker at the helm and a dozen first-years from Wonnacott Commons, is one of 45 first-year seminars. Like all first year seminars, the course is a good introduction to academic expectations at Middlebury and combines a writing intensive syllabus with analysis, research and comprehension skills. In addition to providing a comfortable all-freshmen class, first-year seminars create an opportunity for faculty to teach something that may not be in their area of professional study. So Tucker gets to explore a personal interest—and the students get to learn something a little off the beaten path for a typical intro-level class.