Jim Maritato is the Assistant Director of Public Debate and Forensics and a lecturer of communication at the USC Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism. Jim brings 10 years of experience coaching and directing debate to USC, having previously served as the Director of Debate at Marist College in Poughkeepsie, NY. Jim holds a MA in communication from the University of Wyoming, and a BS in Information Technology from Marist College.

In addition to teaching courses in argumentation and advocacy, Jim performs the day to day directorial duties of the USC Neighborhood Debate League – a grant funded project that facilitates debate in LA area high schools. Jim also directs the Annenberg Digital Debate Initiative – a project developed in 2010 to explore the ways that new media technologies may be leveraged to increase productive debate and deliberative discourse in contemporary society and thicken public discourse within social media.

Jim’s research interests include argumentation & rhetorical theory, mass media effects, popular culture, and the impact of new media technologies upon public understanding of social and political issues.