Early American Orientalist tales depicted Easterners as convertible through democracy and love

Evidence

The official intellectual genealogy of Orientalism would certainly include Gobineau, Renan, Humboldt, Steinthal, Burnouf, Remusat, Palmer, Weil, Dozy, Muir, to mention a few famous names almost at random from the nineteenth century. It would also include the diffusive capacity of learned societies: the Société asiatique, founded in 1822; the Royal Asiatic Society, founded in 1823; the American Oriental Society, founded in 1842; and so on. But it might perforce neglect the great contribution of imaginative and travel literature, which strengthened the divisions established by Orientalists between the various geographical, temporal, and racial departments of the Orient. Such neglect would be incorrect, since for the Islamic Orient this literature is especially rich and makes a significant contribution to building the Orientalist discourse. — Edward W. Said, Orientalism, 275 (#expands, via linked claim)

Categorization

• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim
• XREF: connects to: Travel and imaginative literature helped build Orientalist discourse — Edward W. Said, Orientalism, 275; Romantic Orientalism shaped how Muslims were imagined even in positive portrayals; Oriental tales circulated widely in English literature across two centuries

Broader Connections

• Romantic Orientalism shaped how Muslims were imagined even in positive portrayals #expands (0.85)
• Travel and imaginative literature helped build Orientalist discourse #expands (0.80) — Edward W. Said, Orientalism, 275
• Oriental tales circulated widely in English literature across two centuries #expands (0.70)