Biography
Jeanette Smith, Ph.D., is an adjunct lecturer for the department of Religious Studies at Florida International University. Her classes include core courses such as Introduction to Religion and Studies in World Religions along with exciting new offerings in Faith in Justice, Religion & Fantasy, and Religion & Science Fiction. Jeanette engages her students with innovative assignments and activities, often promoting community-based learning through her involvement with several local and national organizations, including South Florida Interfaith Worker Justice, the MCCJ Interfaith Clergy Dialogue, and the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health. Jeanette, who holds a law degree, is a worker justice advocate who has helped to pass several wage theft ordinances throughout the state, including a 2010 Miami-Dade County ordinance that has served as a model nationwide. She has also extensively studied abroad, first in Mexico, Italy, and Greece during her undergraduate program and then in Singapore as a law student and then again in Jamaica as an attorney. These opportunities have fueled her interest in FIU’s Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) program. Jeanette was recently appointed the university’s inaugural COIL Faculty Fellow in January 2021 and is enthusiastic about the possibilities that COIL brings to both students and faculty.