Associate Professor
Sarah Fischer, Ph.D.
Associate Professor and Academic Internship Coordinator, School of Social and Behavioral Sciences
Academic Credentials:
B.S., Iowa State University
B.A., Iowa State University
M.A., American University
Ph.D., American University
Short Bio
Dr. Fischer’s research focuses on stress prevention effectiveness for professionals in the criminal justice system, media coverage of crime, and the relationship between sexual violence and political participation in a comparative perspective.
Dr. Fischer’s first research, completed as an undergraduate, led her to conduct oral histories of judges in Iowa. Those oral histories are now part of the Iowa Women’s Archives. Her undergraduate thesis examined representations of genocide in the United States and Europe. In graduate school, Dr. Fischer won numerous grants for research that investigated the discrimination that Muslim women often face due to veiling.
In the classroom, Dr. Fischer endeavors to engage students with practical applications of theory and data analysis. Dr. Fischer has won the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences’ Junior Faculty Teaching Award, Marymount University’s Draghi Outstanding Faculty Award, and Marymount’s Inaugural Undergraduate Faculty Information Literacy Award.
Dr. Fischer also serves as the president of Marymount University’s chapter of The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi. In 2025, she co-chaired the American Society of Criminology’s Division of Feminist Criminology. She now serves on the American Society of Criminology’s Membership Committee.
Teaching Areas: Research methods, gender and criminal justice, senior seminar
Research Interests: stress management for criminal justice professionals, media’s coverage of crime, sexual violence and political participation
Selected Publications (with links, if desired):
“Understanding the Nexus of Religion, Secularism, and the Harms of Women’s Mandatory Un/Covering.” 2023. In Religion and Gender-based Violence. Brenda Bartelink, Chia Longman, and Tamsin Bradley, eds. London: Routledge.
“Young Women, Sexual Violence, and the Pursuit of Justice Amid Weakening State Institutions: The Case of Turkey’s Campus Witches.” 2019. Youth Politics in the Middle East and North Africa 36 (1). Link: https://pomeps.org/young-women-sexual-violence-and-the-pursuit-of-justice-amid-weakening-state-institutions-the-case-of-turkeys-campus-witches
Selected Presentations
“Portrayals of Native and Indigenous Police on Television: Stereotypes or Attempts at Authenticity?” Paper presented at the American Society of Criminology’s Annual Meeting, November 13-16, 2024. San Francisco, California.
“Teaching Self-Care and Stress Management in a First-Year Criminal Justice Course.” Paper presented at the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences, March 19-23, 2024. Chicago, Illinois.
“Increases in Femicide and Declines in State Responses Since the Covid-19 Pandemic: Can Social Movements Propel State-Supported Interventions?”
Paper presented at the American Political Science Association Virtual Research Meeting, February 8-9, 2024. Online.
“Portrayals of Officers’ Mental Health and Coping Skills in Television Crime Dramas.” Paper presented at the American Society of Criminology Annual Meeting, November 15-18, 2023. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
“Attracting Women Voters to Islamist Parties: What Policies Produce Party Support?” Paper presented at the Middle Eastern Studies Association Annual Meeting, November 1-5, 2023. Montreal, Canada.
