Sathasivan "Saths" Cooper (born 11 June 1950) is a clinical psychologist in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

who was born in Durban of Indian-South African background. He began to identify with the

Black Consciousness Movement The Black Consciousness Movement (BCM) was a grassroots anti-Apartheid activist movement that emerged in South Africa in the mid-1960s out of the political vacuum created by the jailing and banning of the African National Congress and Pan Afri ...

(BCM) and joined the

South African Students' Organisation The South African Students' Organisation (SASO) was a body of black South African university students who resisted apartheid through non-violent political action. The organisation was formed in 1969 under the leadership of Steve Biko and Barney P ...

(SASO), and was one of the so-called "

SASO Nine The SASO/BPC trial, also known as the Black Consciousness trial, was an apartheid-era legal trial in South Africa which resulted in the conviction of nine Black Consciousness activists from the South African Students' Organisation (SASO) and ...

" student leaders arrested in 1974 for their anti-Apartheid activities. During this time Saths spent nine years banned, house arrested and jailed, including over five years in

Robben Island Robben Island ( af, Robbeneiland) is an island in Table Bay, 6.9 kilometres (4.3 mi) west of the coast of Bloubergstrand, north of Cape Town, South Africa. It takes its name from the Dutch word for seals (''robben''), hence the Dutch/Afrik ...

where he shared a cell block with

Nelson Mandela Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (; ; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African Internal resistance to apartheid, anti-apartheid activist who served as the President of South Africa, first president of South Africa from 1994 to 1 ...

. While imprisoned, Cooper completed his undergraduate degree in psychology via a

correspondence course Distance education, also known as distance learning, is the education of students who may not always be physically present at a school, or where the learner and the teacher are separated in both time and distance. Traditionally, this usually in ...

with the

University of South Africa The University of South Africa (UNISA), known colloquially as Unisa, is the largest university system in South Africa by enrollment. It attracts a third of all higher education students in South Africa. Through various colleges and affiliates, U ...

. Released in 1982 Cooper went on to study at the

University of the Witwatersrand The University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg (), is a multi-campus South African Public university, public research university situated in the northern areas of central Johannesburg. It is more commonly known as Wits University or Wits ( o ...

completing his PhD as a

Fulbright scholar The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States Cultural Exchange Programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people of ...

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with its original campu ...

. He was four times elected President of the Psychological Society of South Africa, and was Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the

University of Durban-Westville The University of Durban-Westville (UDW) was a university situated in Westville, a town situated near Durban, South Africa, which opened in 1972. It is now one of the campuses of the University of KwaZulu-Natal. It was initially established for ...

(prior to its merger). He served as President of the International Congress of Psychology which was held in 2012 in Cape Town,

. At the Congress, Cooper was elected the first African President of the

International Union of Psychological Science The International Union of Psychological Science, abbreviated IUPsyS or the Union, is the global umbrella organization for psychology. History Starting in 1889, an International Congress of Psychology has been held every few years. The Interna ...

(IUPsyS), a kind of United Nations for 90 national psychology organizations and over 20 regional organizations.Rich, G. J., & Kuriansky, J. (2015). Saths Cooper: Post-Apartheid Psychologists, Activist, and Leader in South Africa and Beyond. In G. J. Rich & U. P. Gielen (Eds.). (2015). ''Pathfinders in international psychology'', (pp. 241-255). Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing.

Background

Cooper was born in a rural area outside

Durban Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...

, South Africa where his parents ran a local school. He grew up understanding and using multiple languages including Zulu,

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nativ ...

Afrikaans Afrikaans (, ) is a West Germanic language that evolved in the Dutch Cape Colony from the Dutch vernacular of Holland proper (i.e., the Hollandic dialect) used by Dutch, French, and German settlers and their enslaved people. Afrikaans gra ...

Xhosa Xhosa may refer to: * Xhosa people, a nation, and ethnic group, who live in south-central and southeasterly region of South Africa * Xhosa language, one of the 11 official languages of South Africa, principally spoken by the Xhosa people See als ...

, and

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

. Cooper became politically active in high school and continued to be politically active throughout college, which may have resulted in his expulsion from the University College,

Salisbury Island Salisbury Island may refer to: * Salisbury Island (California), United States * Salisbury Island (Nunavut), Canada *Salisbury Island (Russia) *Salisbury Island (Western Australia), Australia *Iona Island (New York), once known as Salisbury Island ...

, Durban as well as the South African government denying him a passport to attend university in Britain. As a leader of the

Natal Indian Congress The Natal Indian Congress (NIC) was an organisation that aimed to fight discrimination against Indians in South Africa. The Natal Indian Congress was proposed by Mahatma Gandhi on 22 May 1894. established on 22 August 1894. Gandhi was the H ...

, Cooper had frequent meetings with

Steve Biko Bantu Stephen Biko (18 December 1946 – 12 September 1977) was a South African anti-apartheid activist. Ideologically an African nationalist and African socialist, he was at the forefront of a grassroots anti-apartheid campaign known ...

, the leader of the

, and encouraged

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

activists to participate in this movement.

Contributions to Psychology

Cooper's most significant contributions to

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries betwe ...

was to help South Africans heal from the trauma of

apartheid Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...

, advance human rights, and support democracy. He also helped to create the Psychological Society of South Africa (PsySSA), which was South Africa's first psychology organization that did not discriminate based on race or gender.

Roles

* Founding Secretary - Theatre Council of Natal (TECON) * Founding Secretary - South African Black Theatre Union * Co-Leader - 1972 national student boycott of the

University of the North The University of Limpopo is a university in the Limpopo Province, South Africa. It was formed on 1 January 2005, by the merger of the University of the North and the Medical University of South Africa (MEDUNSA). These previous institutions for ...

(with Steve Biko) * Vice president, deputy, and president - Azanian People's Organization * Founder - National Forum * Founding trustee - Institute for Black Research * President - South African/Azanian Student Movement, US * Chair - Archbishop Tutu Scholarship Fund * Co-Founder - Center for Health and Development, US * Chair - Soweto Dance Theatre Company * Chair - Operation Masakhane for the Homeless * Participant - Alternate Dispute Resolution Association of South Africa * Chair - South African Community Developmental Agency * Chair - Conquest for Life * Founding member - Goldstone Commission of Enquiry into Children's Rights * Contributor - Robben Island Museum * Contributor -

Apartheid Museum The Apartheid Museum is a museum in Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 ...

* Contributor - Nelson Mandela Gateway * Founding publisher - Indigo (lifestyle magazine) * Consult - Various radio and television programs * Chair -

Road Accident Fund The Road Accident Fund (RAF) is a South African state insurer that provides liability and collision insurance coverage to all drivers in South Africa . RAF does not cover property damage (such as damage to vehicles, buildings, and the contents ...

* Representative - IUPsyS

Honors

* Fellow of the

International Science Council The International Science Council (ISC) is an international non-governmental organization that unites scientific bodies at various levels across the social and natural sciences. The ISC was formed with its inaugural general assembly on 4 July 201 ...

* Fellow of the

British Psychological Society The British Psychological Society (BPS) is a representative body for psychologists and psychology in the United Kingdom. History It was founded on 24 October 1901 at University College London (UCL) as ''The Psychological Society'', the organ ...

(2014). *

American Psychological Association The American Psychological Association (APA) is the largest scientific and professional organization of psychologists in the United States, with over 133,000 members, including scientists, educators, clinicians, consultants, and students. It ha ...

Award for Distinguished Contributions to the International Advancement of Psychology (2014). * Achievement Against The Odds Award from

(2012). * Medal for Services to International Psychology from

(2008). * Fellow of the National Academy of Psychology (India) (2007). * Fellow of the Psychological Society of South Africa (2002). * Fellow of the Irish Psychological Society.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cooper, Sathasivan South African psychologists Living people 1950 births South African people of Indian descent Fellows of the British Psychological Society Apartheid in South Africa South African theatre people Black Consciousness Movement People from Durban South African anti-racism activists