Allan received Bachelor's degrees in German and English literature from Brandeis University in 2006. In 2011, he earned a Master's degree in German literature from New York University. His thesis, entitled "Romancing the Stone: stone as trope in Novalis' novel framents Die Lehrlinge zu Sais and Heinrich von Ofterdingen," investigated stone as a site where poetic and philosophical commonplaces undergo reversals and transformations.

Allan's research interests include the litearture and philosophy of the late 18th and early 19th century, critical theory, psychoanalytic theory, epistemology, and the intersections of science and literature. He is also interested in German-Chinese relations and Classical Chinese philosophy.