Making a Long Story Longer: Eastern Europe and 1968 as a Global Moment, Fifty Years Later.

The article proposes an extension of the understanding of 1968 in a threefold manner: an extension of the timeframe of the events (the action in '68), a further extension to include the legacy of 1968, and a spatial-geographical expansion to make the analysis global. By elaborating on these extensions, the article considers 1968 as a global moment in which diverse histories converge and then diverge again, while the synchronicity of events generates an enhanced consciousness of the world, making the outlines of larger structures and connections more visible. Seeing 1968 in this way, the article argues, can provide a more adequate grasp on eastern Europe's '68 and its variegations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]