Contested authenticity in Zimbabwean tourist eatertainment

In this thesis I examine the contestation of authenticity in cultural experiences (“eatertainment”) provided for tourists, both Indigenous African and Western, at a number of restaurants operating at Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe. Object authenticity appeared to be more important to Western tourists than to Indigenous African tourists. I also illustrate the ways in which the traditional philosophical value systems of Ubuntu, Hlonipha, and Isithunzi mediate both the experience and expression of interpersonal and intrapersonal existential authenticity. In sum, by representing both Indigenous African and Western voices, the thesis provides a comprehensive and critical analysis of the concept of authenticity.