Jonathan Wipplinger was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and received his undergraduate degrees in German and History from the University of Wisconsin - Madison (1999). He has traveled extensively in Germany and studied at the Albert-Ludwigs-Universitaet in Freiburg im Breisgau. He received my Ph.D. in German from the University of Michigan in 2006. Before joining the faculty of North Carolina State University in 2008, he was a visiting assistant professor in German at the College of the Holy Cross.

His interests include 20th century German culture and literature, business, media, and popular music.