Welcome to the
American Association
for Runic Studies

What We Do

Since 2006, the American Association for Runic Studies has advanced the knowledge of runes by supporting lectures and sharing information and research with the public.  To learn more about AARS’s engagements, explore the icons below that refer to scholarly lectures, events, special projects, educational opportunities, and video presentations.

Events

Presentations

Education & Outreach

Projects

AARS Blogs & News

All things runic are explored in blogs written by a cadre of AARS members as well as invited guest bloggers.  News items are referenced worldwide that bring new information to runic studies.  Contributions in both areas will appear on a regular basis, so please make periodic visits to this page to read about the latest musings on research, critiques, news, or information on AARS activities.   (Read more).

AARS Elects New President

Anne Louise Thompson, PhD, a life-long educator, was elected as the new President of the American Association for Runic Studies (AARS) in recent action by its Board of Directors.Anne Louise brings leadership experience...
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SASS 2025 : Minneapolis

AARS Executive Director Loraine Jensen and runologist Dr. Scott Shell had the wonderful opportunity to attend and present at the SASS 2025 conference in Minneapolis, Minnesota from April 24-26th. The theme of the...
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New Jersey Runestone Recently Discovered and Translated

After nearly 35 years, American Runologist, Dr. Scott Shell, was able to help a woman achieve one of her life-long desires: to translate and contextualize a runestone that was found outside of Cranford, New Jersey....
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The 5th Rune Round was held in Denmark during the last week of august 2023

Rune Rounder Dianne O'Konski wrote an article about the Rune Round in Denmark that was published in the Logberg-Heimskringla newspaper on Oct. 15th, 2023.
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Loraine Jensen to Present at Bemidji Sons of Norway

Loraine Jensen will present at the April 30  Bemidgi Sons of Norway meeting, co-hosted with the Bemidji Affiliate of the American Swedish Institute.  This presentation will provide an overview of the thousands of...
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Viking Herald Features Articles about Runes and Viking Attractions in Sweden

In two articles, The Viking Herald has picked out some of the best Viking attractions that any visitor to Sweden should see.  Runeriket, "The Rune Kingdom" is a special attraction for persons interested in runes.Here...
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Loraine Jensen featured on American Swedish Institute Blog Post

The American Swedish Institute has posted a story to its blog about Loraine Jensen's Pedagogical Prize from the Royal Gustav Adolfs Academy for Swedish Folk Culture. Read the story here.
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Found the world’s oldest rune stone

An ancient Norwegian rune stone is attracting international attention among runic scholars and archaeologists.

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Archaeologists Discover—and Start to Decode—Rare Medieval Runes

Read this article from the Smitshonian Magazine describing how one of recently unearthed objects is the first of its kind found in Oslo in decades.  
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Loraine Jensen to Speak at ASI Culture & Conversation Series

Loraine Jensen, founder and president of the American Association for Runic Studies (AARS) will be presenting "Shining A Light Into The Past Through Runic Studies" as part of the Culture & Conversation Series at...
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