Gordon
Stables
Gordon
Stables
Tabs
Gordon Stables is the director of the School of Journalism. A clinical professor with appointments in both the School of Communication and School of Journalism, Stables has been a member of the USC Annenberg faculty since 2002 and served in a number of roles.
As the School of Journalism director, Stables is responsible for the supervision and management of USC Annenberg programs in Journalism and Public Relations. He works closely with the school’s faculty and leadership to help guide the school’s research, teaching and service initiatives. His current research interests focus on the future of public news.
He previously served (from 2014–18) as USC Annenberg’s associate dean for student affairs. He worked with the Academic Advisement and Academic Services teams to help connect each students’ broader university and academic experiences.
From 2002–17, Stables served as the director of USC’s Trojan Debate Squad (TDS). Long known for its intercollegiate policy debate program, the squad expanded is programming under Stables’ leadership. Gordon helped incorporate community debate by partnering with the Los Angeles Metro Debate League. The TDS now also has a robust British Parliamentary debate program and an active debate campus series.
Stables has served as a leading voice within the intercollegiate debate community. He was president of both the American Forensics Association and the Cross Examination Debate Association. He served as the chair of the Topic Selection Committee. Stables’ contributions have been recognized through numerous service awards, and he was the youngest professional to earn the highest career service awards from both national debate organizations.
Stables embraces innovation in his classroom instruction, teaching a range of courses that explore rhetoric, argumentation, debate, political communication, and global media. From 2007–17, Stables directed the International Communication Studies (ICS) program, where students travel across Europe and meet with executives from a wide range of media professions.
Awards and Honors:
The George Ziegelmueller Award, National Debate Tournament (2011)
The Don Brownlee Award, Cross Examination Debate Association (2011)
The Ray Buchanan Coach of the Year Award, Pepperdine University (2008)
The Amy Fugate Leadership Award, Kansas City Kansas Community College (2007–08)
“1917: Woodrow Wilson’s call to war pulled America onto a global stage.” The Conversation, April 3, 2017, republished in Smithsonian Magazine, The Daily Mail, Salon, Gannett, Business Insider and other outlets.
“Recent Participation and Programmatic Trends in Intercollegiate Debate.” The AFA/NDT at 50 Years: What Will It Take to Get to 100?, 19th NCA/AFA Conference on Argumentation, “Recovering Argument,” July 30–August 2, 2015.
“Speech & Debate as Civic Education.” Invited spotlight panel hosted by the Department of Communication Arts & Sciences and the Center for Democratic Deliberation at Penn State University, March 2015.
“Designing 21st Century Academic Debate Formats.” Paper presented at the Alta Argumentation Conference, Alta, Utah, 2013.
“Representations of Rape: Justifying Kosovo.” Paper presented at the National Communication Association Conference, New Orleans, 2002.
Media Coverage
Courses
ASCJ 200: Navigating Media and News in the Digital Age
JOUR 490x: Directed Research
JOUR 590: Directed Research
PR 490: Directed Research