Lawrence Rothfield's research focuses on the way in which literature, criticism, and other cultural activities participate in epistemic and political struggles. His major publications include Vital Signs, a book about the social function of the 19th century novel; The Measure of Man, a study of the politics of culture in the Florentine Renaissance (forthcoming); and a volume of edited essays on the Brooklyn Museum controversy, Unsettling "Sensation": Arts Policy Lessons from the Brooklyn Museum of Art Controversy.

His most recent publication is a chapter on state-level humanities policy in the volume "Mapping State Cultural Policy" edited by J. Mark Schuster. Rothfield has also taught cultural policy including both the Center for Cultural Policy's introduction to cultural policy studies and courses on the politics of culture and of taste. He is currently overseeing a major new project on the impact of cultural "scenes" on regional urban development. As Faculty Director of the Center, he is responsible for the research and teaching agenda of the Center.