Rothfield's research focuses on the way in which literature, criticism, and other cultural activities are caught up within epistemic and political struggles. He is interested in understanding, in particular, how the nineteenth-century novel in England and France mutates in response to changes in what counts as knowledge (the emergence of physiology, statistics, economics, biology, linguistics, Darwinism); how cultural criticism carves out a niche for itself within the field of disciplines; and how fiction and criticism function as instruments of power.

He has also published two books (one as editor) dealing with the looting of Iraq's national museum and archaeological sites, and is working now on a book about the more general problem of how best to bring the black market in antiquities under control.

Rothfield is co-founder and Faculty Director of the Cultural Policy Center which brings together faculty whose research—whether in economics, law, sociology, anthropology, philosophy, political science, public policy, history, art history, or cultural studies—touches on or could help inform policies (regarding copyright regimes, government funding, censorship, heritage preservation, etc.) affecting the arts and humanities.

To learn more about his research and publications, please visit his profile page.