Key Pages
- |Changes [Feb 26, 2009]
The camera
I have been held up by my search for concrete sources (not from the internet) that I was instructed to use. I am sorry and will finish my sunglasses etymology with proper citations.
-Craig
I am a sophmore majoring in history or maybe some form of STS. I took this class because it looked interesting and fresh and thus far the class has proved to be both.
Sunglasses
Proposal
Today sunglasses are almost inherent in the very idea of “cool.” They also provide almost a one-way mirror; a window where the wearer of the glasses can see out but no one can see their eyes. Sunglass’s most prominent role in our society is to be worn to protect against the sun. However they are commonly seen as an accessory when a person is in the shelter of a building or when it is dark enough outside that they are no doubt a hindrance to vision. This begs many questions as to what sunglass’s true role in our society has become.
For my project I would first like to go into the motivation for the first sunglasses. However because sunglasses serve so many different roles this will be a comparison between a few different tracts. Then I will go into the modern role in society of sunglasses.
The very first sunglasses appeared in the 14th century in China. Smoke tinted lenses were routinely worn by Chinese judges to conceal their eye expression in court. Here I would go into the history of the process of smoke tinting. But more importantly, I would examine sunglass’s role in society as they are used to conceal a person’s emotions or identity. For this I would like to use a case study although I have not found a suitable one yet…
In the mid-eighteenth century sunglasses emerged again, this time serving a different role. James Ayscough introduced lenses with various different tints that were believed to correct vision. It was thought that a colored tint in one’s glasses could help certain vision ailments. On this tract I will go into the medical reason for sunglasses. Why they are often prescribed by doctors, what they do to help, and what can happen to a person’s eyes that are exposed to the sun’s rays without eye protection.
In 1929 the first pair of sunglasses, as we view them today, was put on sale by the founder of the Foster Grant company on the Boardwalk in Atlantic City, New Jersey. By 1930 sunglasses were “all the rage.” Fashion campaigns in the 1960s and 70s lead to a large sunglasses industry where previously none existed. I will go into what the underlying reason for the sunglasses industry is today, and it is not because of the glare of the sun. From ancient times women hid their faces behind open fans or cloth veils. It was not until recently that modern both men and women found an allure in wearing glasses regardless of solar glare. This will be a major theme of my project.
Throughout the 1930s the military had a major role in the tactical advancement of sunglasses. The military contracted Ray Ban to develop aviator sunglasses that dipped down because pilots often have to look down at their instrument panel. They gave them a green tint to block yellow band of the spectrum prevalent and thus protected against high altitude glare.
It is clear that all the diverse functions of sunglasses are highly reliant on each other, advancement in one aspect, from wearability to lens technology, helps or at least influences all the others. For my project I will examine how the different functions of sunglasses led to the varying tracts of their introduction. Then I will go into the combined role of sunglasses in our society.
[Sunglasses to Conceal]
A Reason to Wear Sunglasses-UV Protection
[The Future]
References:
http://www.ideafinder.com/history/inventions/sunglasses.htm
