Orientalism’s power of generalization converts real people into undifferentiated abstractions.

Evidence

Aside from the picturesque characters offered European readers in the exotic fiction of minor writers (Pierre Loti, Marmaduke Pickthall, and the like), the non-European known to Europeans is precisely what Orwell says about him. He is either a figure of fun, or an atom in a vast collectivity designated in ordinary or cultivated discourse as an undifferentiated type called Oriental, African, yellow, brown, or Muslim. To such abstractions Orientalism had contributed its power of generalization, converting instances of a civilization into ideal bearers of its values, ideas, and positions, which in turn the Orientalists had found in “the Orient” and transformed into common cultural currency. — Edward W. Said, Orientalism, 649

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the reader’s Islamophobia readings: this is the core mechanism of Othering that later work builds on. Also echoes Columbia’s ‘undifferentiated type’ framing. — connects to: The collective singular for foreign peoples persists as false generalization. — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School: Its History,…, 2033; An ostensibly singular concept can lull analysts into overgeneralization. — Farhan Samanani, Conviviality and its others: for a…, 87
• DEFINE: Defines Orientalism’s ‘power of generalization’ — the conversion of concrete instances into ideal bearers of a civilization’s supposed values.
• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — Edward W. Said, Orientalism, 649