Of Beetles and Angels: A Boy’s Remarkable Journey from a Refugee Camp to Harvard

These prompts can be used for in-class discussion, exploratory free-writing, or reflection homework before or after reading the book.

Pre-Reading “Icebreaker”

A formal education is the primary force that transforms Mawi’s life and, ultimately, helps him achieve the American Dream. Can you think of any other stories—in news, popular culture, or from your own experience—in which education uplifts a person’s life? Think about scholarship opportunities and special educational programs in your own community. What are the governing philosophies behind these programs that underscore the idea that education can radically change a person’s life for the better?

Teaching Suggestion: Examining the numerous domestic educational/scholarship programs (for example, the Horatio Alger National Scholarship Fund or the NAACP’s Building Beautiful Futures Scholarship) devoted to furthering economically and socially disadvantaged students exposes the underlying idea that education will help to uplift communities. Consider the demographic of your own student body, and research the educational scholarships/opportunities that might be most relevant to them. Students can begin to make connections between the prompt and the book’s theme of Power in Education and Tradition.

• The Association of American University Professors released “Data Snapshot: Is Higher Education a Pipeline to the American Dream?” in 2020 to explain the data that supports the idea that educational opportunities help underprivileged individuals to achieve the American Dream.
• Professor Jennifer L. Hochschild, from Mawi’s own alma mater, Harvard University, published the paper “Democratic Education and the American Dream” that fleshes out the relationship between public education and social advancement in the United States.
• This short article through UNESCO discusses a recent exhibit called “The Power of Education: Stories from Four Continents” that also highlights the power of education. specifically in the refugee experience.

Post-Reading Analysis

Since Of Beetles and Angels was first published in 2002, Mawi Asgedom has continued his career as an author, a speaker, and entrepreneur. He focuses on activism for refugee rights in America and serves as a general advocate for Ethiopia and Ethiopian culture. Eighteen years after his book was published, a war in the Tigray region of Ethiopia erupted in November 2020. In October 2021, Mawi published an opinion piece in The Washington Post in which he argues that the ethnic cleansing in Tigray that began in 2020 should be classified firmly as a “genocide.” Considering what you read about Mawi’s experiences and what you learned about his character traits directly and indirectly in Of Beetles and Angels, how/why is it fitting that he maintains this position?

Teaching Suggestion: Before addressing the prompt, students might read “The warning signs are there for genocide in Ethiopia – the world must act to prevent it” (The Guardian) and “The Ten Stages of Genocide” (Holocaust Memorial Day Trust). They might then discuss the situation in Tigray, using the 10 stages to help inform their answer. The American Teachers Federation provides a guided framework for teaching students about the difficult subject of war and genocide, entitled “To Repair the World: Becoming a Human Rights Defender.” Depending on the temperament of your students, you may want to share with them the “What can students do?,” which provide students with ways of getting involved with activist groups that fight for human rights, including the International Alliance to End Genocide.

• Mawi’s opinion piece in The Washington Post mentioned above is entitled “Why the U.S. Should Call the Famine and Violence in Tigray a Genocide.” (Subscription may be needed to view.)
• For a broad overview of the humanitarian crisis in Tigray, students might read the CNN article “Ethiopia Is at War with Itself. Here’s What You Need to Know About the Conflict.”
• From The Nation, the polemic article “There’s a Genocide in Tigray, but Nobody’s Talking About It” supports Mawi’s position that racism and other factors have kept the conflict in Tigray from being classified as a “genocide.”