ABSTRACT
This chapter is concerned with two main questions: what is a museum? And what is museum studies? It explores arguments advanced particularly by F. Candlin, who suggested that in academic literature, independent museums are the preserve of 'heritage' rather than 'museum studies'. The chapter suggests that the on-going association of independent museums with the domain of heritage rather than museum studies also offers a useful commentary on the relationship between the two academic subjects as they continue to develop. The chapter provides a brief initial consideration of the definition of an independent museum in the UK context and explore the growth of independent museums and their connection to the so-called 'heritage debates' in the UK. It shows the distinction between museums and heritage sites as extremely porous; associating heritage sites solely with outdoor buildings, structures and landscapes, and museums only with a collection of objects and artefacts housed under one roof is too simplistic.
