TEMPO grew out of the Early Modern–Saint Louis conference which highlighted Modern philosophy scholarship from around the country and around the world.

That conference collected a core group of participants over its three year run. That core group participated in producing the conference in the second and third years, and they agreed to continue to put on the conference after it was displaced from St. Louis.

Lacking a permanent home, the Traveling Early Modern Philosophy Organization (TEMPO) was born. We put on a conference in a different U.S. location each spring in late April/early May. Everyone is welcome to attend the conference, and, if they're interested, join TEMPO afterward.

The TEMPO board includes Annemarie Butler (Iowa State University), Julie Walsh (Wellesley College), Tim Black (CSU Northridge), David Landy (San Francisco State University), Louise Daoust (Eckerd College), James Mattingly (Georgetown University), Domenica Romagni (Colorado State University) and Richard Fry (Rutgers).