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 Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

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 Af ...

(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 Pi ...

(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 () 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 language, Dutch word for seals (''robben''), hence the Dutch/Afrika ...

where he shared a cell block with

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

. 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 school, or where the learner and the teacher are separated in both time and distance; today, it usually involves online ...

with the

University of South Africa The University of South Africa (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, UNISA has over 400,000 student ...

. Released in 1982 Cooper went on to study at the

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

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 peopl ...

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. BU was founded in 1839 by a group of Boston Methodism, Methodists with its original campus in Newbury (town), Vermont, Newbur ...

. 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, is the global umbrella organization for psychology. History Starting in 1889, an International Congress of Psychology has been held every few years. The International Congr ...

(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 ( ; , from meaning "bay, lagoon") is the third-most populous city in South Africa, after Johannesburg and Cape Town, and the largest city in the Provinces of South Africa, province of KwaZulu-Natal. Situated on the east coast of South ...

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

Tamil Tamil may refer to: People, culture and language * Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka ** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...

Afrikaans Afrikaans is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language spoken in South Africa, Namibia and to a lesser extent Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe and also Argentina where there is a group in Sarmiento, Chubut, Sarmiento that speaks the Pat ...

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: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

. 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 a political organisation established in 1894 to fight discrimination against Indians in the Natal Colony, and later the Natal Province, of South Africa. Founded by Mahatma Gandhi, it later served an importan ...

, Cooper had frequent meetings with

Steve Biko Bantu Stephen Biko Order for Meritorious Service, OMSG (18 December 1946 – 12 September 1977) was a South African internal resistance to apartheid, anti-apartheid activist. Ideologically an African nationalism, African nationalist and ...

, the leader of the

, and encouraged

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Associated with India * of or related to India ** Indian people ** Indian diaspora ** Languages of India ** Indian English, a dialect of the English language ** Indian cuisine Associated with indigenous peoples o ...

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. Its subject matter includes the behavior of humans and nonhumans, both consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, and mental processes such as thoughts, feel ...

was to help South Africans heal from the trauma of

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

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

(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 Desmond Mpilo Tutu (7 October 193126 December 2021) was a South African Anglican bishop and Christian theology, theologian, known for his work as an Internal resistance to apartheid, anti-apartheid and human rights activist. He was Anglican Dio ...

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 Robben Island () 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/Afrikaans name ''Rob ...

* Contributor -

Apartheid Museum The Apartheid Museum is a museum illustrating apartheid and the 20th-century history of South Africa. The museum, part of the Gold Reef City complex in Johannesburg, was opened in November 2001. At least five times a year, events are held at t ...

* Contributor - Nelson Mandela Gateway * Founding publisher - Indigo (lifestyle magazine) * Consult - Various radio and television programs * Chair - Road Accident Fund * 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 20 ...

* 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 org ...

(2014). *

American Psychological Association The American Psychological Association (APA) is the main professional organization of psychologists in the United States, and the largest psychological association in the world. It has over 170,000 members, including scientists, educators, clin ...

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) The National Academy of Psychology (NAOP) is the major national organization of psychologists in India. The decision to form the organization was made in 1988 by psychologists gathered at Bhopal University Barkatullah University is a public un ...

(2007). * Fellow of the Psychological Society of South Africa (2002). * Fellow of the Irish Psychological Society.

References

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