durée

durée

the continuous flow of conduct and cognition in social life. In this view (see GIDDENS, 1984), social life is not seen as ‘compounded of an aggregate or series of separate intentions, reasons and motives’. Nor is it regarded as the product of fixed structure. Rather, it is seen as a continuous process in which STRUCTURE AND AGENCY both play a part. Borrowing from the work of the social historian BRAUDEL, one may also talk of the longue durée of institutions as well as the repetitive durée of day-to-day social life.

Collins Dictionary of Sociology, 3rd ed. © HarperCollins Publishers 2000