Amanda Smith studied English and German literature, linguistics and cultural studies in the United States and Germany, where she completed her Ph.D. at Ruprecht-Karls Universität Heidelberg with a dissertation on masculinism in twentieth-century literature. Before coming to Rice, Amanda was the Assistant Director of First-Year Writing (FYW) and the Coordinator of Stretch English and Directed Self-Placement into FYW at San José State University. She has taught all levels of college writing and much of her recent scholarship has focused on multilingualism and multiculturalism in the FYW classroom and Celebrations of Student Writing.