Assistant Professor
Academic Credentials
B.A., Iowa State University
B.S., Iowa State University
M.A., American University
Ph.D., American University
Biography
Dr. Fischer’s research focuses on inequalities within the criminal justice system and the media’s coverage of crime in a comparative perspective. Her most recent research examines sexual violence, femicide, and women’s pursuit of retributive justice.
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 a comparative perspective. In graduate school, Dr. Fischer won numerous grants for her 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. In 2019, Dr. Fischer won SAGE’s Junior Faculty Teaching Award.
Dr. Fischer also serves as the president of Marymount University’s chapter of The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi.
Teaching Area
- Research Methodology
- Theories of Crime
Research Interests
- Femicide and sexual violence
- Media representations of crime
- Comparative criminology
Publications
“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).
