ABSTRACT
Through UNESCO's World Heritage Convention, this 'heritage discourse' - the idea that certain bits of evidence of the past should be preserved in a fast changing, indeed 'progressive' world - was taken up as part of not just the 'national' project but also the 'international' one. Thus 'heritage' discourses became aligned with discourses of 'internationalism' to constitute the 'world heritage discourse'. In this sense, the 'professionalised', 'scientific' and 'technical' emphasis of National Museums and Monuments of Zimbabwe (NMMZ) approach to the preservation of Great Zimbabwe represents not only the 'prescriptive' power of 'world heritage', but also the 'de-politicisation' that is essential for the 'anti-politics' effect of 'world heritage'. And these contribute to the continued alienation of Great Zimbabwe from local communities, and the marginalisation of other perspectives on its value, and appropriate management. Great Zimbabwe and the Khami ruins are among a minority of sites in Africa that do meet the pro-'ancient', and 'monumentalist' biases of the original criteria for world heritage contained in the Convention.
