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Inextricably bound with self-identity, human language and cognition remains a research area with more questions than answers. Can we think without language? What are the differences in neural mechanisms of language and cognition? How and why does the pediatric human brain acquire language at exponential rates while taking a lifetime to acquire cognition? What is the role of language and cognition in self-identity? Are we still ourselves without language, without memories? In this First-Year Seminar, we will examine the recursive nature of language, cognition, and self through the lenses of neurology, psychology, sociology, linguistics, and cognitive science. We will learn how language and cognition develops and changes across the human lifespan through case study examination of the lived experiences of individuals with cognitive-communication disorders, such as dyslexia, dysgraphia, aphasia, agnosia, and Alzheimer’s disease. We will end our semester by exploring how the interplay between language, cognition, and self makes us distinctively human and how those lessons apply to the field of artificial intelligence. Perhaps most importantly, this seminar provides students an invitation to actively reflect on their own language, cognition, and development of self.