This dissertation critically examines the misappropriation of Restorative Justice Discourse (RJD) within three predominantly white institutions (PWIs), analyzing 59 institutional documents through Critical Discourse Analysis, Relational Critical Discourse Analysis, and Rhetorical Criticism (Fairclough, 1995; Vaandering, 2021; van Dijk, 2008). Tribal Colleges and Universities and South African institutions have emerged as exemplars of authentic RJD, countering co-optation within PWIs. The findings demonstrate that RJD as applied in PWIs is framed in ways that attenuate its transformative potential, perpetuating color-evasiveness (Bonilla-Silva, 2017) and obscuring the intersectional experiences of Black, Indigenous, and disabled communities (Crenshaw, 1991; Million, 2009).
Grounded in decolonial praxis (Smith, 2012; Wilson, 2008), this study introduces the concepts of \"Colonial Renaissance,\" to describe how PWIs adopt a restorative facade while maintaining hegemonic control over justice discourse and appropriating Indigenous and Afrocentric knowledge systems, and \"Performative Proximity,\" elucidating how PWIs superficially engage with themes of inclusion while reinforcing existing power structures. It challenges institutionalized whiteness, calling for restorative reckoning that necessitates radical commitment to equity, decolonization, and the transformative potential of justice in higher education, and presents the \"HEAL Humanity Now!\" framework, which advocates for the decolonization of restorative justice through relational accountability, systemic change, and the reclamation of Indigenous and Afrocentric epistemologies.
","abstract_html":"<p>This dissertation critically examines the misappropriation of Restorative Justice Discourse (RJD) within three predominantly white institutions (PWIs), analyzing 59 institutional documents through Critical Discourse Analysis, Relational Critical Discourse Analysis, and Rhetorical Criticism (Fairclough, 1995; Vaandering, 2021; van Dijk, 2008). Tribal Colleges and Universities and South African institutions have emerged as exemplars of authentic RJD, countering co-optation within PWIs. The findings demonstrate that RJD as applied in PWIs is framed in ways that attenuate its transformative potential, perpetuating color-evasiveness (Bonilla-Silva, 2017) and obscuring the intersectional experiences of Black, Indigenous, and disabled communities (Crenshaw, 1991; Million, 2009).</p> <p>Grounded in decolonial praxis (Smith, 2012; Wilson, 2008), this study introduces the concepts of "Colonial Renaissance," to describe how PWIs adopt a restorative facade while maintaining hegemonic control over justice discourse and appropriating Indigenous and Afrocentric knowledge systems, and "Performative Proximity," elucidating how PWIs superficially engage with themes of inclusion while reinforcing existing power structures. It challenges institutionalized whiteness, calling for restorative reckoning that necessitates radical commitment to equity, decolonization, and the transformative potential of justice in higher education, and presents the "HEAL Humanity Now!" framework, which advocates for the decolonization of restorative justice through relational accountability, systemic change, and the reclamation of Indigenous and Afrocentric epistemologies.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Varlack-Butler, LaTasha Tomay"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"PhD Education for Social Justice","degree_level":"Dissertation: Open Access","degree_discipline":"Learning and Teaching","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2025,"date_issued":"2025-05-18T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2025-05-18T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:41:55Z","subjects":["Restorative Justice Discourse","Restorative justice","Cultural Sovereignty","higher education","Decolonial Praxis","Intersectionality","Afrocentric epistemologies","Indigenous knowledge systems","Performative Proximity","Critical Discourse Analysis","Disability Critical Race Theory (DisCrit)","Belonging","Transformative Justice","Rhetorical Framing","Decolonizing Education","HEAL Humanity Now Framework","Relational Healing","Relational accountability","Color-evasiveness","Institutional cooptation","Colonial Renaissance","Linguistic Betrayal","Language keeper","misappropriation","Beloved Community","Crip time","Sacred Knowledge systems","Spirituality in Education","Inner healing","Inner transformation","courage","Indigenous wisdom","Sacred Resistance","Spiritual Disruption","Embodied Liberation","Ancestral Healing","Ubuntu","Sawubona","Ceremony","In Lak'ech","Accessibility","Adult and Continuing Education","Adult and Continuing Education Administration","Adult and Continuing Education and Teaching","African American Studies","African History","African Languages and Societies","Biblical Studies","Community College Education Administration","Community College Leadership","Counselor Education","Critical and Cultural Studies","Curriculum and Social Inquiry","Disability Studies","Discourse and Text Linguistics","Educational Leadership","Ethics and Political Philosophy","Ethics in Religion","Gender Equity in Education","Gender, Race, Sexuality, and Ethnicity in Communication","Health Communication","Higher Education Administration","Higher Education and Teaching","Holistic Education","Leadership Studies","Organization Development","Other Communication","Other Educational Administration and Supervision","Other Social and Behavioral Sciences","Rhetoric","Scholarship of Teaching and Learning","Social Influence and Political Communication","Social Justice","Social Work","Speech and Rhetorical Studies","Urban Education","Urban Studies and Planning","Vocational Education"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://digital.sandiego.edu/dissertations/1066","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Varlack-Butler, LaTasha Tomay"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2025-05-12T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Learning and Teaching"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Dissertation: Open Access"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["PhD Education for Social Justice"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Restorative Justice Discourse","Restorative justice","Cultural 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Tribal Colleges and Universities and South African institutions have emerged as exemplars of authentic RJD, countering co-optation within PWIs. The findings demonstrate that RJD as applied in PWIs is framed in ways that attenuate its transformative potential, perpetuating color-evasiveness (Bonilla-Silva, 2017) and obscuring the intersectional experiences of Black, Indigenous, and disabled communities (Crenshaw, 1991; Million, 2009).
Grounded in decolonial praxis (Smith, 2012; Wilson, 2008), this study introduces the concepts of \"Colonial Renaissance,\" to describe how PWIs adopt a restorative facade while maintaining hegemonic control over justice discourse and appropriating Indigenous and Afrocentric knowledge systems, and \"Performative Proximity,\" elucidating how PWIs superficially engage with themes of inclusion while reinforcing existing power structures. It challenges institutionalized whiteness, calling for restorative reckoning that necessitates radical commitment to equity, decolonization, and the transformative potential of justice in higher education, and presents the \"HEAL Humanity Now!\" framework, which advocates for the decolonization of restorative justice through relational accountability, systemic change, and the reclamation of Indigenous and Afrocentric epistemologies.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Becoming a Beloved Community: A Restorative Reckoning for a Radical Conversion to Transform Discourse in Higher Education"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:creator":["Varlack-Butler, LaTasha Tomay"],"dc:date.available":["2025-05-12T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["This dissertation critically examines the misappropriation of Restorative Justice Discourse (RJD) within three predominantly white institutions (PWIs), analyzing 59 institutional documents through Critical Discourse Analysis, Relational Critical Discourse Analysis, and Rhetorical Criticism (Fairclough, 1995; Vaandering, 2021; van Dijk, 2008). Tribal Colleges and Universities and South African institutions have emerged as exemplars of authentic RJD, countering co-optation within PWIs. The findings demonstrate that RJD as applied in PWIs is framed in ways that attenuate its transformative potential, perpetuating color-evasiveness (Bonilla-Silva, 2017) and obscuring the intersectional experiences of Black, Indigenous, and disabled communities (Crenshaw, 1991; Million, 2009).
Grounded in decolonial praxis (Smith, 2012; Wilson, 2008), this study introduces the concepts of \"Colonial Renaissance,\" to describe how PWIs adopt a restorative facade while maintaining hegemonic control over justice discourse and appropriating Indigenous and Afrocentric knowledge systems, and \"Performative Proximity,\" elucidating how PWIs superficially engage with themes of inclusion while reinforcing existing power structures. It challenges institutionalized whiteness, calling for restorative reckoning that necessitates radical commitment to equity, decolonization, and the transformative potential of justice in higher education, and presents the \"HEAL Humanity Now!\" framework, which advocates for the decolonization of restorative justice through relational accountability, systemic change, and the reclamation of Indigenous and Afrocentric epistemologies.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://digital.sandiego.edu/dissertations/1066"],"dc:subject":["Restorative Justice Discourse","Restorative justice","Cultural Sovereignty","higher education","Decolonial Praxis","Intersectionality","Afrocentric epistemologies","Indigenous knowledge systems","Performative Proximity","Critical Discourse Analysis","Disability Critical Race Theory (DisCrit)","Belonging","Transformative Justice","Rhetorical Framing","Decolonizing Education","HEAL Humanity Now Framework","Relational Healing","Relational accountability","Color-evasiveness","Institutional cooptation","Colonial Renaissance","Linguistic Betrayal","Language keeper","misappropriation","Beloved Community","Crip time","Sacred Knowledge systems","Spirituality in Education","Inner healing","Inner transformation","courage","Indigenous wisdom","Sacred Resistance","Spiritual Disruption","Embodied Liberation","Ancestral Healing","Ubuntu","Sawubona","Ceremony","In Lak'ech","Accessibility","Adult and Continuing Education","Adult and Continuing Education Administration","Adult and Continuing Education and Teaching","African American Studies","African History","African Languages and Societies","Biblical Studies","Community College Education Administration","Community College Leadership","Counselor Education","Critical and Cultural Studies","Curriculum and Social Inquiry","Disability Studies","Discourse and Text Linguistics","Educational Leadership","Ethics and Political Philosophy","Ethics in Religion","Gender Equity in Education","Gender, Race, Sexuality, and Ethnicity in Communication","Health Communication","Higher Education Administration","Higher Education and Teaching","Holistic Education","Leadership Studies","Organization Development","Other Communication","Other Educational Administration and Supervision","Other Social and Behavioral Sciences","Rhetoric","Scholarship of Teaching and Learning","Social Influence and Political Communication","Social Justice","Social Work","Speech and Rhetorical Studies","Urban Education","Urban Studies and Planning","Vocational Education"],"dc:title":["Becoming a Beloved Community: A Restorative Reckoning for a Radical Conversion to Transform Discourse in Higher Education"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Learning and Teaching"],"thesis:degree_level":["Dissertation: Open Access"],"thesis:degree_name":["PhD Education for Social Justice"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:41:55Z"}