Background
Whitam was born in Natchez, Mississippi.
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Frederick Lee
Edit ProfileEducation
He studied at Millsaps College, University of Chicago, Columbia University, and Indiana University, where he received a master"s degree, followed by a Doctor of Philosophy in 1965.
Career
Scholar Paul Vasey described Whitam as "an essentialist during a time of rampant social constructionism."
In 1960, he was appointed Assistant Professor and Chair of the Department of Sociology at Millsaps College. In 1962, he took a position at Fashion Institute of Technology. After a brief appointment at University of Texas, Austin, he accepted a position at Arizona State University in 1966 and taught there the remainder of his career.
He established the department"s doctoral program in 1972, became a full professor in 1986, and retired in 1997.
Whitam"s early work focused on the sociology of religion before he moved into researching commonalities in male homosexuality in different cultures. Whitam told Newsweek, "If you look at all societies, homosexuality occurs at the same rates with the same kinds of behavior.
That suggests something biological going on. Whitam died in Tempe, Arizona.
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Born
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Died
July 10, 2009 (aged 76) -
Nationality
American