I'm not quite sure where your perceptions about cultural studies have come from. I'm currently doing an MA in cultural studies (I did my BA in English). The program I am taking is independent of English as it has faculty teaching in the department from 20 different departments ranging from history, English, sociology to geography, kinesiology, and environmental studies. Needless to say, it is a very independent program seeing as how there are such varied backgrounds. When I first read your post I thought that something like a cultural studies program would be right up your alley since we seem to have somewhat similar interests (my research focuses on aesthetics and narrative theory in conjunction with museums). I'm not certain if I'll be continuing with cultural studies for my Phd, but an MA in cultural studies has been, for me, the perfect way to explore my interests outside the confines of rigid literary periods and time-frames.