* American Politics

Hofstra University (www.hofstra. edu) May 21-June 24 This Richard Himelfarb Distance Learning Course will focus on the presidency and historical origins of US political institutions.

* Countdown to the Election

92nd Street Y (www.92y.org) May 13; $26 Andy Borowitz, Jonathan Alter, Susie Essman and Calvin Trillin remind us there’s humor in politics.

* The Hyperpartisan Era in Washington

65 5th Avenue (212) 229-5418, May 28 The Inaugural Bill Green Lecture featuring Ronald Brownstein, political director of Atlantic Media Group.

* Presidential Campaigns and Conventions: Substance and Hoopla

The New School (www.newschool. edu) From June 2; $540 (15 sessions) Examine past conventions and campaigns with an eye

on the 2008 conventions.

* Immigration Dilemmas

The New School (www.newschool. edu) From June 2; $540 How immigration has affected U.S. society.

* Bill Moyers on Democracy

92nd Street Y (www.92y.org) June 10; $26 Bill looks at what works and what doesn’t in American democracy.

* Drew Westen on the PoliticalBrain

92nd Street Y (www.92y.org) June 12; $26 How do Americans vote? The author analyzes data from elections from 1950-2000.

* Gay Rights and the Politics of 2008

The New School (www.newschool. edu) June 18; $8 Find out what the politics of 2008 tell us about discrimination on gays, lesbians and the transgendered.

* Contemporary Issues in American Politics

HOFSTRA University (www.hofstra. edu) June 30-August 1 Conflicts over health care, the federal budget, social security, medicare and poverty.

* Summer Institute in Global Affairs

New York University School of Continuing and Professional Studies (www.scps.nyu.edu) July 7-11; July 14-August 1 Political developments since 1945, with emphasis on the post-Cold War.

* On the Road to the White House 2008

HOFSTRA University (www.hofstra. edu) August 4-22 Focus on the process of the 2008 presidential nomination and selection.

* The Courts and Constitutional Issues

The New School (www.newschool. edu) September 23; $8 Bob Kerrey and Linda Greenhouse assess the Roberts Court and its role.