Applying open pedagogical principles within the field of cultural and ethnic studies provides students with the opportunity to engage in reflections that capture the complexities of learning in an era of polarization—with national debates emerging on the role of pedagogy and the impact of environmental and public health uncertainty in the aftermath of how COVID-19 transformed the economic, social, and educational landscape. This article considers what it means to teach, and to learn during this epoch. It provides an assessment of how a student-centered framework prioritizing relationality and relational reflexivity can refocus engagement via a dynamic process by which students are empowered to simultaneously learn and contribute to knowledge production.