Modern Orientalism is defined by expanded representational range, not greater accuracy

Evidence

The difference between representations of the Orient before the last third of the eighteenth century and those after it (that is, those belonging to what I call modern Orientalism) is that the range of representation expanded enormously in the later period. It is true that after William Jones and Anquetil-Duperron, and after Napoleon’s Egyptian expedition, Europe came to know the Orient more scientifically, to live in it with greater authority and discipline than ever before. But what mattered to Europe was the expanded scope and the much greater refinement given its techniques for receiving the Orient. — Edward W. Said, Orientalism, 90

Categorization

• XREF: The distinction between knowing an object better versus developing refined techniques for receiving it feeds directly into later Islamophobia readings on how representational machinery produces its object.
• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — Edward W. Said, Orientalism, 90