longue durée

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English

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English Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia

Etymology

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Borrowed from French longue durée (long duration). Attested since the 1960s.

Noun

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longue durée (uncountable)

  1. (historiography, social sciences) A long period of time during which social processes develop or social structures evolve.
    • 1978, Lynn Avery Hunt, Revolution and Urban Politics in Provincial France: Troyes and Reims, 1786-1790, Stanford University Press, →ISBN, page 1:
      The "Annales" school draws attention to the virtually unchanging geography of a region, the rising and ebbing movements of the economy, or the rhythmic repetitions in social relations — i.e., to the "longue duree" — rather than to those fleeting events we call political.
  2. An approach to the study of history over such long periods.
  3. The long term; a relatively long period of time.
    • 1976, Jean Franco, “Foreword”, in The Decapitated Chicken and Other Stories, University of Wisconsin Press, translation of original by Horacio Quiroga, →ISBN, page xv:
      The longue duree of river and rocks throws into relief the trivial pursuits of the dying man whose last thoughts are of a briefer time span.

Usage notes

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The term longue durée is especially associated with French historians and social scientists of the Annales School.

Translations

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