Prof. Wolfgang Ertl's scholarly interests focus on 20th and 21st century German literature and culture, with emphasis on GDR and postunification literature and German lyric poetry. His research and teaching interests also extend to 19th century German literature and interdisciplinary studies in literature and ecology. He is furthermore engaged in studies in art history and has been exhibiting his paintings in oil, pastel, and acrylics since 2007 in various juried shows in New England.
Prof. Ertl has published five books on various writers and aspects of East German and postunification literature. His recent articles deal with diaristic and autobiographical prose by East German writers since the collapse of the GDR, the issue of GDR and the new German identity, humor and satire in postunification texts, environmental issues, and the theme of childhood in contemporary German literature. He is co-editor of Glossen, a peer reviewed scholarly journal on literature and art in the German speaking countries after 1945 (founded in 1997).
