Sonja Grassmugg entered the Modern European History PhD program in Fall 2017. Her research interests include aspects of British nineteenth-century cultural, social, and legal history.

In 2016, she received her BA in History from the University of Leeds, UK, with awards for best overall performance and best dissertation for her work on Victorian perceptions of eccentricity. Following this, she completed a one-year MPhil in Modern British History at the University of Cambridge, where she received the Robert Owen Bishop studentship from Christ's College and became a Research Prize Student at the UK-branch of the Joint Center of History and Economics. Her MPhil dissertation focused on performativity, character, and emotions in the Chartist trials.